After the Indianapolis Colts' poor showing in Week 1, not many people gave them a high chance of victory in Week 2. Week 1 woes may have been explained by a very good opponent in the Ravens and some green-dot issues, but the Chiefs are very much the same caliber of team as Baltimore.
Through four quarters and most of overtime, the Colts looked like they belonged every bit as much as Kansas City did on the football field. Jonathan Taylor had a vintage, pristine performance, and Daniel Jones played serviceably well, given that Alec Pierce left the contest early with an injury.
The unfortunate truth is that some teams perform in the clutch moments, and some don't rise to the occasion. Multiple times, Indy had a chance to take command in this game, but every time they came up just short. That's not a winning formula when the opponent is Patrick Mahomes. Nonetheless, while many players shone in Week 2, a few contributed to the loss much more than others.
2 Indianapolis Colts players who fell short of the occasion
No. 1: CB Justin Walley
The Colts offense played admirably, surging off a robust run game spearheaded by Jonathan Taylor and a complementary passing game as well. Putting up 30 points on the road against Kansas City in primetime is no small feat.
That being said, the defense was woeful. It was an outing characterized by almost succeeding. It felt like countless times the defense would get the Chiefs backed up on third-and-long, and invariably Patrick Mahomes would find a wide-open Travis Kelce or Tyquan Thornton to convert and kill any momentum Indy had.
One of the main culprits of those busted coverages was Justin Walley. Captain of the CB room, Sauce Gardner played well, but when the running mate on the other side of the field is getting consistently gashed, there's not much one can do to mitigate the damage.
The only way giving up two first-round picks for a premier cornerback can be a fruitful endeavor is if they're surrounded by a competent defense. It doesn't matter if one side of the field is closed down if the other side can be exploited for an easy gain on every down.
Walley wasn't the only lacking member of the secondary, but it definitely felt like he was one whom Mahomes was consistently picking on the most.
No. 2: QB Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones played a solid game against the Chiefs. He finished with an objectively respectable stat line of 22 of 31 passing, 210 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Those are good numbers in the NFL. The problem is, they're nothing but a pale imitation of Patrick Mahomes' 382 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones was paid to be the franchise quarterback of this team. No one expected him to be Patrick Mahomes. No one expected him to consistently throw for 300 yards and three scores. In fact, Jones could've easily made the praise section of an article had Indy won, but the irrefutable fact is that he folded in the biggest moments -- moments when KC excelled.
Indy had a chance to put the game away with less than two minutes to go in regulation, but they couldn't convert on third down at about midfield and had to punt it away. Again, Indy had a chance to emerge victorious late in overtime after a hugely explosive (and hugely controversial) 48-yard Laquon Treadwell deep bomb.
Again, they couldn't convert on third down in the red zone and had to settle for a field goal, allowing Mahomes the chance to drive down the field and win it for KC. Undoubtedly, Jones deserves credit for keeping Indy in this game and for getting them in position to attempt to take control of the contest in the first place.
However, he didn't show up when it counted, and that seems to be the biggest flaw with Indy's $88 million man. A quarterback doesn't come to have a primetime record of now 1-16 without something about their play being the common denominator.
Daniel Jones is a good quarterback, and that shouldn't be taken away from him. The problem, one that becomes glaringly obvious against truly elite competition, is that he simply isn't a great one.
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