INDIANAPOLIS -- Under former head coach Chuck Pagano, whose specialty was defense, the Indianapolis Colts were routinely ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in defense.

Current coach Frank Reich's specialty is offense. So, of course, the Colts are the top-ranked defensive team in the league through three games.

Go figure.

Nobody is comparing the current Colts defense the 1985 Chicago Bears or the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, but the Colts might be able to finally say they have a difference-making defense, something they haven't been able to talk about since Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney had quarterbacks looking for them coming off the edge nearly a decade ago.

“I think we have an excellent defense,” Reich said. “I’ve felt this way from the start. All that matters is we score one more point than the other team. I’d like them to keep this up. Obviously, the standards are high, and the expectations are high. But it’s play good football, play winning football whatever that takes, whatever it takes to win the game, that’s what we’re focused on.”

That was Reich on Sunday after his defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns and had a safety to outscore the New York Jets 16-7 in the Colts' 36-7 victory.

His tune changed a bit less than 24 hours later, when he was asked about how his defense has made some strides.

“I don’t want to discount what our defense has done because I think they are playing really good and I think we have really good players, but let’s just say if we were on the other side of the equation here, if the number was a lot higher than what we wanted, I would say to you, ‘Well, it’s only a small sample size,'" Reich said. "So in order to be fair, I think we are going to play great the whole year, but it’s a small sample size. We still have a lot to prove.”

Trends in the NFL change week to week. That’s why Reich isn’t getting too overconfident about the recent success of his defense. That’s understandable, considering questions were flying quicker than a Patrick Mahomes pass about the unit after Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew completed 19-of-20 passes against them in Week 1.

But things have been significantly different for them since that loss to the Jaguars.

The Colts have given up just 18 points and 246 passing yards -- total -- while making six interceptions, which lead the league, and two safeties in the past two games against the Vikings and Jets. The Colts hadn’t recorded three interceptions in back-to-back games since 1992 or had safeties in back-to-back games since 1960.

Yes, the Vikings and Jets have a combined 0-6 record, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the defense did what it was supposed to do: shut down its opponent. There would be plenty of criticism if the defense had struggled against those winless teams.

“I think it goes back to the execution and the players,” Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. “They’ve done a good job of really working hard during the course of the week and executing the details and getting the plan down as a unit.”

The defense set a lofty goal of forcing 40 turnovers this season. They’re currently behind that pace, but they are on a pace for 32.

The Colts are first in the league in yards allowed per game at 225.3, which is 64.7 yards per game better than second-place Pittsburgh. Indianapolis is also first in the league in yards per passing attempt (4.7) and opposing passer rating (64.0).

The challenge will get tougher as the season progresses, as quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson and Ben Roethlisberger await them on the schedule. That’s when the Colts will have a better indication of what kind of defense they have.

“Nobody cares if your defense is No. 1 in Week 1 or Week 2,” linebacker Darius Leonard said. “What they care about is if you’re No. 1 [in] Week 16 or 17.”