Special Teams and Defense Bring Down the Colts

Well, I expected a loss for the Colts against the Chargers, but I did not expect it to go like that. The Colts lost 30-24 yesterday, September 8, in overtime to the Los Angeles Chargers and quarterback Jacoby Brissett was not the problem. If you had told me going into this game that defense and special teams were going to be the reason that we lost I would have laughed at you, but here we are.

Colts' Kicker Adam Vinateri was visibily frustrated after missing his second field goal of the day. Photo Courtesy of The Indianapolis Star.

Punter Rigo Sanchez had a punt blocked, the greatest kicker of all time, Adam Vinateri, missed an extra point and two field goals, one from twenty-nine yards, and the special teams gave up multiple long returns off of punts and kickoffs. On the first scoring drive by the Chargers, the Colts held them to a field goal until a dumb penalty on the special teams when they touched the long snapper while his head was down gave the Chargers a first and goal.

The defense let the Chargers’ backup running back to Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, rush for fifty-eight yards and a touchdown. He also had ninety-six yards receiving with two touchdowns. The defense gave up a total of 435 yards: 310 through the air and 125 on the ground. There were four and a half bright spots for the Colts on the defensive side of the ball. The Maniac, Darius Leonard, had three solo tackles and four assisted tackles and the linebacker deflected, quarterback, Phillip Rivers pass at the line. So in essence, he was The Maniac. Safety Malik Hooker had the most important play of the game in the Chargers’ endzone when he pulled in an interception with one hand while trailing 24-16. This sparked the game tying drive that Brissett put together. Watch the insane interception below.

Defensive Tackle Denico Autry also looked good for the Colts. He had two solo tackles and two assisted tackles; this included half a sack. The Colts had four sacks total in the game. Defensive end Kemoko Turay also had an impressive outing. He had two-strip sacks in the game, but one was unfortunately called back. He should continue to be a vital tool to the success of the Colts defensive line. The half bright spot was the new defensive end, Justin Houston. He had three solo tackles, including a sack, and one assisted tackle. The downside was that he was called for an offsides penalty on a play that Rivers was sacked and ending the Chargers drive. Instead the drive was kept alive and the Chargers kept moving.

Now the offense. Honestly after a couple of bad drives where the offensive line forgot to block, the Colts offense seemed to have figured it out. Brissett went 21/27 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. The most important thing is that he made no mistakes, excluding a bad snap that Brissett fell on quickly. As someone who thought he would have a couple of turnovers that was wonderful to see. Before the game, wide receiver TY Hilton supposedly told Brissett that he had his back and he proved it out on the field. He had eight receptions for eighty-seven yards and caught two touchdowns. He also made quite a few defenders miss on his second touchdown catch. Running Back Marlon Mack also proved the doubters wrong as he ran for 174 yards on twenty-five carries and a touchdown. This included the longest run of his career when he torched the predicted number one defense for a sixty-three yard touchdown.

Colts' running back Marlon Mack celebrates after his 63 yard touchdown run. Photo Courtesy of Stampede Blue.

Honestly, as much as it sucked to watch the Colts shoot themselves in the foot over and over again there is some comfort in the fact that these things can be fixed. They held their own against a team that is considered to be a top team in the AFC and they really should have won. Vinny left seven points off the board and I know he is going to be harder on himself than any of the people screaming that he is too old. He will figure it out. If you do not believe me, maybe you will believe a guy that held Vinny’s balls for eight years, former Colts’ punter Pat McAfee tweeted about his thoughts on Vinny’s outing. Read his thoughts below.

The Colts are going to be fine. After seeing the solid outing that the offense put together and the fact that Brissett looked great and made no mistakes, I truly believe that the Colts are going to be a playoff team this year. Just keep the faith #Colts fans.

One other notable event for the Colts is that wide receiver Devin Funchess broke his collarbone and likely needs surgery. The former Carolina Panther is headed to the Injured Reserve. Expect second-year wide receiver Deon Cain to step up in the absence of Funchess.