Indianapolis Colts look terrible in first half of Week 17 game against NY Giants

The Indianapolis Colts are still in the playoff race, thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals victory over the Denver Broncos, so the Colts will need to win this game if they want a prayer of making the postseason. Working in the Colts' favor is how easy their remaining schedule is; the Giants are a notoriously terrible team, and have yet to win a home game this season.

Yet it might not be an easy road for them; they are without their starting quarterback, Anthony Richardson, who is injured. Veteran QB Joe Flacco was named the starter this week in his place. Though head coach Shane Steichen initially said Richardson merely had a sore back and foot, it has since been reported that his injuries are more significant - and Steichen's description of the situation has been criticized by analysts like Stephen Holder and James Boyd.

Returning to the game, however, is Alec Pierce, a dynamic wide receiver who was out due to a concussion.

The Giants won the coin toss and elected for the Colts to receive, so Flacco and the offense came out to start the game. Flacco easily connected with Pierce and Adonai Mitchell for first downs, quickly getting into Giants territory. A bit of a mistake happened after that, where Flacco tried to hand off the ball to Jonathan Taylor but couldn't quite make it, and then tried to run it in himself. He then dug himself further into a hole by throwing an interception on the very next play.

While Flacco is a Super Bowl champion and has had an impressive career, he struggled earlier this season when he was temporarily named QB1. His start for this game was likely not reassuring for the Colts.

Thankfully, the defense came out swinging. They forced the Giants into losing yards on consecutive plays, and then there was a false start on third down. The Giants simply couldn't recover from that much of a deficit, and punted off with a quick three-and-out.

Flacco connected with Pierce for the second time for 19 yards, while Jonathan Taylor picked up the first down. Mitchell got another first down, and as the Colts drove into the end zone, their progress came to an abrupt stop when Flacco got sacked, and they were forced to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown.

The Giants came out swinging, too, with Tyrone Tracy running for an incredible 40-yard run before being forced out of bounds by Julian Blackmon. They followed that up with a 31-yard touchdown from Malik Nabers, and the Giants took a four-point lead.

The Giants easily got a second touchdown, this time with a 32-yard pass to Darius Slayton, and the Giants extended their lead by 11 points.

So far, no one on the Indianapolis team seemed capable of doing anything - not offensively or defensively - and they certainly had not been performing at a playoff-caliber level.

Now seemingly desperate to get a touchdown, Flacco threw two deep passes - one to Mitchell and one to Pierce - neither of which were caught. The Colts were saved only by a pass interference call, which was quickly squandered as Flacco threw a pass directly at Jonathan Taylor's back. A penalty put them at 3rd and 10 in the end zone.

Flacco camen under pressure, was forced to throw it away, and once again, the field goal unit came out. This time, Gay put it between the uprights, but the Giants were still leading, 14-6.

The Giants offense continued to run roughshod all over the Colts defense, with little opposition at all. It was only a penalty on New York that pushed them out of the end zone, but with one pass to Nabers, they were right there again, inside the one yard line.

In what seemed to be a move made out of desperation, Steichen challenged the ruling on the field, though, arguing that the catch was not complete. Unsurprisingly, the ruling on the field was upheld, though a false start pushed the Giants back to the six yard line. That couldn't stop the Giants, though, who still got their third touchdown of the game.

With six minutes left, the score was 21-6, Giants.

Flacco connected with Pierce and Michael Pittman, Jr. to get into Giants territory. At the 2:00 warning, the Colts had made it to the Giants' 25-yard line. A 12-yard run from Taylor got them the first down, and Flacco followed that up with a pass to Josh Downs which brought them to the six-yard line.

On 3rd and 4, Taylor was pushed back to the five yard line, but Steichen opted to keep the offense on the field. Flacco was able to connect with Granson for a first down, putting the Colts at 1st and goal. Finally, they got their first touchdown of the game from Taylor.

The extra point from Gay was good, and the Colts made it a one-score game as the half came to an end.

New York will receive the ball in the second half, and fans can only hope there is a drastic change in the Colts' performance. The Giants are playing as if they are the ones fighting to stay in the playoffs, while the Colts seem to be disturbingly cavalier on the field. Shane Steichen's play calling and Gus Bradley's defense has left much to be desired, but one thing no one can doubt:

This is not a playoff caliber team.