3 biggest reasons Colts suffered heartbreaking loss to the Raiders

The Indianapolis Colts suffered a heartbreaking loss in Week 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Entering Week 17, the Indianapolis Colts had three possible paths to clinch a playoff spot. One of the scenarios was beating the Las Vegas Raiders, that didn’t happen. Neither did any of the other two scenarios.

The only thing the Colts had control over was the game with the Raiders, and that slipped out of their hands with a last-second field goal by Daniel Carlson that put Las Vegas up 23-20 as the clock expired.

A quick look at the box score and it appears as if Indianapolis executed the formula that usually wins them games. Jonathan Taylor ran for more than 100 yards, the offense protected the football and the defense forced two turnovers.

Despite doing all of those things, Indy had its fair share of mistakes that lost this game. Here are the three biggest reasons the Colts suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Raiders.

Colts couldn’t consistently convert third downs

Jonathan Taylor had a successful day on the ground with 20 carries for 108 yards and one touchdown. Carson Wentz had a mediocre day through the air completing 16 of 27 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown.

What was bad offensively for Indianapolis was third-down conversions. On Sunday, Indy was just 3-11 on third down. That resulted in the Colts punting five times against Las Vegas.

On those five drives, Indianapolis had three that were three and out and two that were just five plays. The Colts were struggling to consistently generate offense all day and rarely were able to pick up the necessary yardage in crucial situations.

This forced the defense to spend a lot of time on the field and allowed the Raiders to keep the game close. If Indy has any plans of advancing to the playoffs and making a serious run, the team will have to be able to draw up productive plays on third down.

Colts were forced to settle for field goals over touchdowns

When Indianapolis’ failed third-down conversions didn’t result in a punt, the drive ended in a field goal attempt for Michael Badgley.

The good thing is Badgley was two-for-two on his field goal attempts, a positive sign after struggles the past few weeks. The bad thing is Badgley was called on during drives where Indianapolis was deep in the Raiders territory.

The first field goal was after a seven-play, 47-yard drive from the Las Vegas 28-yard line. The second was at the conclusion of a 14-play, 53-yard drive from the Raiders 22-yard line.

Putting together those kind of lengthy drives but settling for three points instead of seven rarely ends well, it’s not a formula for success.

The second field goal was the Colts last possession and it tied the game at 20. If Indianapolis would have been able to punch it in for a touchdown, it would have led by four and Las Vegas would’ve needed a touchdown to win the game.

Instead, the Raiders were able to walk off with just a field goal because they were able to stop Indy near the red zone for the majority of the game.

Colts defense couldn’t stop the pass

With the way the Indianapolis defense was playing on the last drive, the Raiders may have gotten a touchdown anyway. After all, Las Vegas was literally a fingertip away from scoring a touchdown.

That’s because Indy couldn’t stop the pass all day. The only pass defense the Colts had today was the two interceptions, one by Isaiah Rodgers and one by Darius Leonard.

While turnovers are great, Indy must be solid on defense without relying on turnovers. That wasn’t the case Sunday.

Derek Carr completed 24-of-31 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown. The Indy defense didn’t have answers for Zay Jones or Hunter Renfrow, who were getting open all day.

Jones finished with eight receptions for 120 yards and Renfrow had seven for 76. They were available whenever Carr needed them and that’s why Las Vegas was able to drive right down the field and kick the game-winning field goal.

If forcing turnovers is going to be the Colts’ only answer to a good passing attack, then Indianapolis is going to be in trouble. The AFC playoffs will have teams much more lethal than Las Vegas, so Indianapolis must be prepared to put a better product on the field moving forward.

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