25-9. It was 25-9. The 2021 Indianapolis Colts led the Baltimore Ravens 25-9 on the road.
And yet, as pessimism pervades the fan base and even the most excitable among us have begun to fear the worst weekly…it’s not entirely shocking a nightmarish sequence of events unfolded from there.
If any one of a number of chaotic events in this one had reversed themselves, though, we’d never have faced disaster.
Alas…when this one rolled off the rails, it rolled all the way back down the hill. And when overtime began with a coin flip loss, it was no longer a question of what was to come, but how long it would take. Would the fatal blow come from Justin Tucker’s leg? Lamar Jackson’s legs? Or something even stupider? Justin Tucker’s arm?
This is a loss that will stick with Colts fans for a long time, and these three moments stood out as plainly devastating.
These 3 moments turned the Colts’ loss to the Ravens on its head.
3. Calais Campbell’s Blocked Kick (and Regulation’s End)
Let’s lay this out, to start: Rodrigo Blankenship was clearly damaged in this game. His stiff hip wasn’t just a hindrance or annoyance. It changed everything.
It seemed clear to us that the Colts should opt to use him as little as possible — and make sure he wasn’t essential in the game’s outcome — as soon as they ended the first half with the extremely weird Rigoberto Sanchez-based scramble.
Instead, up 25-17 with the ball at the Baltimore 15-yard line and just over five minutes left, Indy ran Jonathan Taylor on 3rd & 8. It failed. He lost four more yards on a conservative stumble, and Blankenship had to come out to save the day and extend the lead back to a two-possession cushion.
He took too long. Calais Campbell blasted through the line and powered his way to a blocked field goal, officially inciting nausea in every blue-clad stomach at M&T Bank Stadium (and on the couch).
When Carson Wentz rallied his offense and gave Blankenship a shot at a tie-breaking 47-yarder as time expired…did a single fan think that one was going to be good? Both moments were equally doomed.