Colts Ready to Rebound Against the Jets
By Evan Reller
Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) calls a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Colts 27-14. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Week 1 is over. It’s a distant memory and time for the Indianapolis Colts to prepare for next week’s opponent, the New York Jets. The players are eager to wash the taste of a loss out of their mouths following a disappointing season debut, and they’ll get a good chance with the home opener on Monday Night Football.
The Colts face a Jets team that is very similar to the Bills, strong on defense but question marks on offense. The Jets are 1-0 after a beating up on the Browns, and holding them to just 10 points.
The Colts players and coaches spoke today about moving on to Week 2 and cleaning up the little problems that ruined the season opener.
“Thank God it was week 1 and not week 15,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “The message is get it cleaned up. If we don’t make the corrections now then it’s on us because it’s right there. It’s plain and simple.”
Sunday was another example of a Colts team not being ready to play under Pagano. Early mistakes and some bad coverage decisions led to the loss. Outside linebacker Trent Cole believes that the team will fix those mistakes.
“We’re a high caliber team. We’re a great team,” Cole said. “We just got to get some things cleaned up.”
T.Y. Hilton suffered a bone bruise in his left knee in Sunday’s loss, but it is an injury that seems to be getting better every minute. He immediately sought treatment when the team got back to Indianapolis and has quickly gone for week-to-week to being just day-to-day.
More from Horseshoe Heroes
- Colts explored hiring former quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky
- When is the NFL Combine 2023? NFL Combine schedule, events, how to stream
- Latest NFL mock draft has Colts trading up to No. 1 for star QB
- Eagles offensive free agents that could follow Shane Steichen to Colts
- Here’s why Colts linebacker Shaq Leonard is going to love Shane Steichen
“Monday night speaks for itself,” Hilton said. “Everybody is watching Monday night so it means a lot and especially going against a great Jets defense it means a lot. It’s one that I really don’t want to miss.”
While fans shouldn’t get their hopes up (and probably shouldn’t start him in fantasy leagues), there is an outside chance that Hilton will play Monday. The extra day off will certainly help his chances of playing in Week 2.
Andrew Luck, who owned the loss (and this time it was actually his fault), talked about the importance of the next win. He makes it very clear how much he doesn’t like to lose.
“Yeah, we understand it is a long season. You never want to make it acceptable to lose though. I don’t think that’s part of the culture of this team,” Luck Said “It’s not okay to lose. We’ve got to come back, find a way to finish, bounce back and also know we’re playing at home.
“We’re playing on Monday night in Lucas Oil (Stadium) that’s rocking, that’s a big atmosphere. So we’ve got to do our part and try and take care of business against a good Jets team.”