The Indianapolis Colts will miss the playoffs after a disaster of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In Week 18, the Indianapolis Colts had the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win, instead, they delivered one of their most embarrassing performances in recent memory.
The task was simple, win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who entered the game with two wins, and get ready for the postseason. Indianapolis was unable to do that and the necessary results didn’t go in the team’s favor, so Indy will be missing the playoffs.
What Indy could’ve controlled was its game against Jacksonville, and it played horribly. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but here’s 3 Colts who are responsible for the disaster in Jacksonville.
Offensive line is responsible for Colts disaster
The most consistent unit for Indianapolis this season has been the offensive line. They’ve dominated everyone on the ground and have kept Carson Wentz relatively clean.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Jaguars’ defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage and made Indy’s offensive line look unrecognizable.
Jonathan Taylor was limited to 77 yards on 15 carries and Indianapolis as a whole only ran for 94 yards. Additionally, Wentz was sacked a total of six times on Sunday.
The peak moment of the offensive line’s failure was in the fourth quarter when the Colts were stuffed on the goal line with one yard to gain.
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Everything Indy does offensively starts up front. If the offensive line can’t get going, neither will the offense. That’s what occurred against the Jaguars and it’s a big reason why Indianapolis only scored 11 points.
Carson Wentz is responsible for Colts disaster
All season, question marks have surrounded Carson Wentz, as many wondered if he would be able to make big plays for Indianapolis with the game on the line. After his last two performances, off-season discourse isn’t going to be kind to Wentz.
It’s already been established that the offensive line didn’t make Sunday’s game easy for Wentz, but he also had his fair share of mishaps.
Wentz held the ball a lot, took some unnecessary sacks, missed throws, and threw an ugly interception.
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With Taylor being contained, this was the perfect opportunity for Wentz to step up and be the star of Indy’s offense. Going against a mediocre Jaguars defense, Wentz could have used this moment to shine and give doubters confidence entering the postseason.
Instead, Wentz finished the game completing 17-of-29 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown, and the interception. He had plays throughout the game where he made big throws that flashed promise, but ultimately, his inconsistency contributed to the Colts’ failure.
That has always been the fear with Wentz, as he’s demonstrated this inconsistency throughout his first season in Indianapolis. At times he makes plays that make Indy look unbeatable, other times he makes decisions that leave viewers saying the Colts will need to search for a replacement.
With what Wentz put on tape for his final performance, this will be the conversation until Indianapolis kicks off next season.
Colts defense is responsible for Colts disaster
For the majority of the season, Trevor Lawrence was unable to live up to the hype that surrounded him, mainly due to the circumstances in Jacksonville.
On Sunday against the Indianapolis defense, Lawrence looked every bit of the generational quarterback that many believed he would be at draft time.
On the opening drive, Lawrence completed 8-of-8 passes, engineering a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown pass. That would set the tone of the day.
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Lawrence finished the day 23-of-32 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. While Lawrence is talented, the Colts’ defense made Sunday’s game easy for him.
Lawrence had plenty of time in the pocket, only being sacked once. He was able to find open receivers throughout the game and Indy’s defense didn’t force him or any Jacksonville players into committing turnovers.
Indianapolis has had struggles against the pass all season and it was believed that the pass defense would be a problem come playoff time, but ultimately, it was one of the factors that prevented Indy from making the postseason.
Improving the secondary will be one of the Colts’ biggest priorities this off-season. Instead of preparing for a playoff game, Indianapolis will now turn its attention to the list of issues that contributed to the disappointing finish.
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