Indianapolis Colts lose to Green Bay Packers in brutal Week 2 loss

The Indianapolis Colts lost on the road to the Green Bay Packers in a devastating Week 2 loss that left fans furious.

Despite losing to the Houston Texans in Week 1, the Colts showed signs of a promising season, particularly from Anthony Richardson. Though his accuracy wasn't always on target, he had multiple 50+ yard passes, including one 60-yard pass after slipping and nearly falling on the field. The defense struggled to contain the Texans on the ground, but did well keeping pressure on QB C.J. Stroud, racking up four sacks and 10 hits. Ultimately, the Colts lost by just two points, and they were the favorites to win the Colts-Packers game.

Unfortunately, everything promising about the Colts completely fell to pieces when they arrived at Lambeau Field. While the Colts run defense faltered against the Texans, they failed to show up completely in the first half against the Packers. With starting quarterback Jordan Love out, and inexperienced backup quarterback Malik Willis in his place, it was widely expected that the Packers would be relying heavily on the run, yet the Colts defense was completely unprepared.

In the first half alone, the Packers amassed a whopping 237 rushing yards, more than the Texans got in the entire game the week before. The defense managed to turn things around and seriously limit the Packers in the second half, holding them to just 260 yards total, but by then, the damage had already been done. The Packers pulled into the lead, and their overwhelmingly-lopsided time of possession gave the Colts offense little chance to get into a rhythm and have any chance at success.

While Willis played much better than anyone could have predicted, the Packers' success could be attributed largely to Josh Jacobs, who almost literally carried the team on his back to a win.

To make matters worse, the offense had none of the glimmers of brilliance they displayed in Week 1. Richardson threw several interceptions, lobbed passes at receivers who weren't open, and seemed flustered and disconnected for much of the game. But the blame couldn't be laid entirely at Richardson's feet; there were multiple passes he got right to the receivers, like Adonai Mitchell, which were then dropped.

Running back Jonathan Taylor, at least, had a better game this week than he did against the Texans, ending the game with 103 yards on 12 carries.

Finally, to add insult to injury - literally - both DeForest Buckner and Laiatu Latu had to leave the game after being injured in the second half.

Buckner had just returned to playing following a back injury against the Texans, having not practiced all week. He only played on third downs, but still ended up hurting his ankle. Buckner had to be helped off the field to the bench and then, unable to bear weight on his leg, was carted off into the locker room with his shoe off. Rookie Latu left in the fourth quarter with a hip injury.

It's not clear if either will be able to play next week, but if they have suffered serious injuries, it will be a crushing loss to an already-struggling Colts defense.

The final score was 16-10. The Colts will play the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on September 22nd, at 1:00pm.