It was a whirlwind of a season for the Indianapolis Colts and while they worked through some major adversity throughout the campaign, it ultimately ended in them going home without a chance in the playoffs.
Every year there are surprises for every team. There are some surprises that are pleasant and help the team succeed. There are others that are not so pleasant and wind up contributing to a losing season.
Here are the four biggest surprises from the Colts’ 2019 season:
Andrew Luck’s retirement
Yes, he’s retired and he’s not coming back. One day, Luck’s retirement won’t be mentioned as much and while it shouldn’t be when talking about the future plans for the team, it has to be acknowledged when looking at the season that was for the Colts.
In essence, Luck’s retirement is the biggest reason the Colts didn’t make the playoffs. The astounding and shocking decision to hand up his spikes took the world by a major surprise. The Colts didn’t even know it was going to happen until the week leading up to the announcement.
Luck’s retirement set the Colts back in terms of being a team competitive enough to make a playoff run, and it was without a doubt the biggest surprise of the 2019 season for Indy.
Zach Pascal’s emergence
The Colts had to deal with injuries throughout the entire roster almost every week of the season it seemed. Once a candidate to be cut at the final roster cuts following the preseason, Pascal wound up emerging as a major piece of the offense in 2019.
Because of the massive injury toll that hit the wide receiver room, Pascal became the WR1 at times for the offense. He took advantage of the upgraded role and wound up leading the Colts in receiving yards while being tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions.
It earned him a one-year contract extension and another chance to prove he belongs in the offense as a high-end depth piece.
Jacoby Brissett’s second half
No one expected Brissett to step into the role of QB1 and set the world on fire. No one expected him to lead the Colts to the Super Bowl. But with the way the Colts talked about Brissett and the hot start he got off to through the first six games, it was a major shock at how he finished the season.
Brissett had 14 touchdown passes through the team’s first six games. Over his next eight games (excluding the Steelers), Brissett wound up throwing just four touchdown passes. It was a massive regression that was due to a plethora of factors.
Some of those factors included his own play, which proved to be sub-par and could lead the Colts to draft a quarterback. But even those who weren’t as high on Brissett were likely a little taken back at how poorly he played over those final two months of the season.
Eric Ebron’s disappearance
Even before the 2019 season started and even before his quarterback retired, regression was in the cards for Ebron following his outlier of a season in 2018. He led the league in touchdown receptions among tight ends and truly took advantage of his opportunities in the offense.
However, Ebron didn’t just regress. He pulled a Houdini and vanished before our eyes. Some of that was due to the quarterback play. Some of it was due to a limited role. But Ebron’s inconsistencies and eventual decision to have season-ending surgery resulted in a season to forget for the former first-round pick.
Ebron finished the season with 31 receptions for 375 yards and three touchdowns. Of his 11 games played, seven of them featured three receptions or fewer. Even with an expected regression from 2018, Ebron’s campaign was truly a disappointing surprise.
