Colts: 3 insane moments that doomed Indy’s wild Week 5 loss in Baltimore

1. Xavier Rhodes Injury

The Colts spent the vast majority of this one punching the Ravens in the mouth. Seemed improbable, yes, but it also seemed to be limitless. Their early-fourth-quarter response field goal seemed to finally seal the deal.

Then, on the very first pass of Lamar Jackson’s next drive, Xavier Rhodes went down on a 27-yard completion to Mark Andrews. If you can believe it, the Colts not only never stopped the Ravens from that point on…they never even forced them into a third down.

Literally.

Without Rhodes, Matt Eberflus’ defense was on its heels, barely even operating with enough time to dig into the turf between plays. In just five more plays, Jackson had the Ravens in the end zone, wrapping the drive with a combination touchdown pass to Andrews/defensive holding call on fill-in DB Anthony Chesley.

After the Campbell block, Baltimore predictably zoomed down the field yet again, equalizing on a remarkable 11 plays in just 3:50.

Rhodes’ injury wasn’t the sole impetus behind the Ravens’ surge, of course. Blankenship was gimpy. The team lost confidence and spiraled as soon as momentum began to turn. Their starting DBs have long been absent — even when they’ve been on the field.

But Rhodes was the straw that stirred the drink. And once he left, nobody stepped up to fill his role in keeping this game hanging by a thread.

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