Adam Vinatieri has redemption, helps Colts beat Broncos

Coming off a huge win against the Texans, the Colts were thought to have an inside track on the playoffs. They came out flat, but were able to pull out a 15-13 victory.

It was ugly from the start. The Colts only scored 3 points in the first half on a 55-yard field goal at the end of the half. But Adam Vinatieri missed two more kicks today, a 45 yarder in the first quarter and an extra point that would have tied the game.

Those missed kicks ended up being huge in this one. The Colts offense didn’t play well enough to generate enough scoring chances to overcome the missed points. They couldn’t move the ball through the air at all against a top 5 passing defense.

But when the Colts needed it most, Vinny came up huge. He made a 51-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to give the Colts a 15-13 lead. It ended up being just enough to get the victory. He was able to redeem himself from yet another bad outing.

The defense came up big a few times in this one. They only allowed one touchdown and were able to save the Colts twice late in the game after Denver had good field position. Not everyone on the defense played well though, as Rock Ya-Sin had the worst game possible.

Ya-Sin kept getting victimized. He got called for several penalties in this game, and at least three of them gave Denver first downs. Matt Eberflus needs to work with him to fix his technique because that can’t happen ever again.

The offense was largely stagnant until the last drive. Jacoby Brissett made a fantastic play on the first play of the last drive. He spun out of a sack which would have been a safety, rolled to his right, and threw a strike to T.Y. Hilton. That saved the game and allowed them to get in position for the game-winning field goal.

There are a lot of things the team needs to work on before next week. The offensive line got manhandled most of the game. The receivers failed to break open. But a win is a win, and the Colts know how hard those wins can come by.