After an odd play by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 against the Houston Texans, Indy has been accused of tanking in the final game.
The Indianapolis Colts entered the final week of the season at 4-11-1. With that record, Indy was already eliminated from playoff contention and the team didn’t have anything to play for, other than pride, in the Week 18 matchup against the Houston Texans. This has led to many fans hoping for a loss since that would benefit Indianapolis’ draft position.
Tanking is a word that’s commonly thrown around, and something many teams are suspected of doing. However, there’s never really a way to find out if a franchise is actually sabotaging games. That hasn’t stopped fans from speculating. During the first quarter of Sunday’s game, Indy became the latest suspect accused of trying to lose for a better draft position.
After the Texans drove 75 yards in seven plays for an opening-drive touchdown, they kicked the ball off to the Colts. During the return, explosive returner, Dallis Flowers fumbled the ball and Houston recovered it. However, a close replay showed that Cameron McGrone, a reserve linebacker and special teams player for the Colts, was the one who actually forced the fumble. On the replay, McGrone can be seen punching the ball out of his teammate’s hands.
While this was surely a mistake, it didn’t stop the internet from joking that the Colts are doing a phenomenal job at tanking in the final game of the regular season.
Now THIS team understands how to tank. pic.twitter.com/RkqiPRYPNh
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) January 8, 2023
Colts look like they’re tanking against the Texans
Self-sabotaging instances like this are common in football, so it’s unlikely that this was Indy’s plan of attack to lose Sunday’s game. After all, the way Indianapolis has played this season, the team doesn’t need much help losing. Their on-field struggles have already secured 11 losses with a 12th looking like it’s on its way.
The Colts are trailing the Texans 17-7 at the half and they have already fumbled twice, losing one, and Sam Ehlinger has thrown two interceptions. Unless Houston comes out of the half motivated to get the No. 1 pick, Indianapolis should lose this game and set themselves up with a top-five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
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