The Colts had to win today to keep their playoff hopes alive. Instead they lost in embarrassing fashion and continue their implosion.
In retrospect, we should have seen this coming. When Andrew Luck retired, the season was over right there. This team isn’t good enough to make up for the margin of error that Luck afforded them. That was affirmed today.
The Colts imploded on themselves in the fourth quarter and lost 31-17 in a game they had to have. Adam Vinatieri misses 3 kicks with 2 of them blocked, and one returned for a touchdown. The special teams were absolute trash the entire game, and have been all season.
As much as I would love to blame this game on Vinny, I can’t do it. The defense let Derrick Henry run wild on them to the tune of 149 yards and a touchdown. They couldn’t stop the run. They did force two turnovers and should have forced a third, but the refs continue to be garbage in this league.
Jacoby Brissett is showing himself to not be the answer for this team. He did throw for 319 yards and a touchdown, but threw two terrible picks over the middle of the field that resulted in 10 Tennessee points. He may not have any weapons to throw to, but those mistakes can’t be made.
What did kill the game for the Colts were the special teams as a whole. They couldn’t block on field goals for some reason, and as a result it was a 13-point swing. The entire unit needs to be fixed in the offseason. It’s been the worst it has been in years.
With this loss, it’s time to tank. Get as good of a draft pick as you can. Losing 4 of 5 isn’t going to get you into the playoffs. Try to get a top 10 pick to get a difference maker on this team, like a receiver or a quarterback.
It’s been an ugly season. But now fans can stop having any disillusions of this team making the playoffs. It’s just not good enough for that.