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.
2. Jack Doyle Flop Karma
It’s always the moments you most suspect might be exciting that turn out to be the most heartbreaking.
On the final drive of regulation, facing a 2nd & 20 with under 20 seconds remaining, tight end Jack Doyle did what he thought he had to do to give Indy any sort of a chance to cross into field goal range. With Tavon Young on the ground, Doyle poked the bear, then sold the hell out of a retaliation hit…and baited some flag-happy referees into a game-bending unnecessary roughness call. After he started the whole thing.
New life.
Unfortunately, the Football Gods, firmly on Baltimore’s side the entire fourth quarter, saw right through the charade.
The resulting karma from Doyle’s dive threw the drive off its axis. Blankenship got a chance at the game-winner, but came up well short, his right foot sending a knuckleball several yards wide of the uprights.
Once the Colts let the Ravens out of their clutches there — on a chance they never should’ve had anyway — Baltimore was never going tp hand it back to them.
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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