Jim Irsay hilariously details his experience during Colts meltdown in Jacksonville

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 18: Jim Irsay the owner of the Indaianpolis Colts speaks to the fans at Reggie Wayne's induction to the Ring of Honor (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 18: Jim Irsay the owner of the Indaianpolis Colts speaks to the fans at Reggie Wayne's induction to the Ring of Honor (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and that was never more evident than during the last two weeks of the 2021 season. After a loss against the Raiders, all Indy had to do to advance to the playoffs was beat the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.

Not only did Carson Wentz and Frank Reich lose that game to a team that already locked up the worst record in the league, but they scored just 11 points and continued their puzzling trend of losing in Duval County. Trevor Lawrence looked every bit like a No. 1 pick, as he completely ripped the Colts apart.

Carson Wentz threw for just 185 yards and was sacked six times against a team that literally had nothing to play for. Irsay was seething with rage after watching the Jaguars win in a game where fans protested the incompetence of the front office, as he went into detail about the incident on Pat McAfee’s show.

Irsay said that he had never experienced anything as frustrating or as gut-wrenching as that loss in Jacksonville. Even losing in the Super Bowl didn’t hit Irsay as hard as this game. As soon as he was able, he cleaned house on offense and got a fresh start at quarterback.

Jim Irsay was livid after the Jaguars beat the Colts in Week 18

Irsay’s fury helped the Colts rip the Wentz Band-Aid off. While he put up some very solid numbers in his lone season in white and blue, trading him to Washington and the subsequent move for Matt Ryan helped get Indy a quarterback with more short-term potential. If Darrell Bevell beat me in Week 18, I would have done the same thing.

While the Colts couldn’t stop a nosebleed as Lawrence sliced them up, most of the blame for this loss fell on Wentz. While fans can argue about how the blame should be divided up until they’re blue in the face, Wentz didn’t do enough to help his team win.

With the Titans ditching AJ Brown and Julio Jones in the same offseason, Indy might just be the top team in their division. Jacksonville and Houston are both a few pieces shy of contending. Perhaps Irsay’s demand to improve quickly might get the Colts set up nicely for the future.

That loss to Jacksonville was painful, but it crystallized the fact that Indy’s roster was not good enough to make a deep playoff run as it was currently constructed. The trade of Wentz and the addition of Ryan gave Indianapolis the ammo they needed to assert themselves as contenders in 2022.