Even though winning games is clearly preferred, sometimes losses can be the best thing to happen. The Indianapolis Colts may stand at 5-3, but Sunday’s loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4) could become a sign for whatever is to come in this season’s second half.
Despite suffering additional big injuries and making various, self-inflicted injuries, the Colts still had a chance to win Sunday’s game before ultimately losing 26-24. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer did an admirable job filling in for Jacoby Brissett, who suffered a knee injury in the second quarter.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ last-minute loss against the Broncos:
Another sudden change at quarterback *sighs
In a case that could be filled with a bunch of “oh, not again” and other emotional reactions, the Colts went through another change at quarterback on Sunday. During the second quarter, backup Brian Hoyer had to replace Jacoby Brissett because of the latter’s knee injury, after one of his offensive linemen was pushed into him.
Even though Brissett was deemed questionable to return to the game (and at one point, had his helmet on), it was crystal-clear, Hoyer was the Colts’ new QB1. The 11-year veteran actually played a solid game in Sunday’s tough conditions, as he threw for three touchdowns and made several, timely throws to extend their offensive drives.
In the coming days, we will see whether Hoyer is the Colts’ starting quarterback going forward if Brissett is ruled out with his injury.
One play literally changes the game
There were a ton of plays during Sunday’s game that could have made a bigger difference for the Colts. But with that said, none are bigger than when your offense commits a turnover that is returned for a touchdown late in the first half. And did I mention, they were winning and inside your opponent’s red zone?
Following his first touchdown pass of the game, Hoyer marched the Colts downfield to the Steelers’ 20-yard line and proceeded to throw a terrible pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The reason, this play is arguably the biggest of Sunday’s game doesn’t have all to do with the actual play itself. It’s the circumstances.
First of all, the Colts were winning by one touchdown. Secondly, there were basically two minutes remaining in the first half. And lastly, Hoyer was too aggressive to go for the touchdown. Their offense had just earned another first-down, following Ebron’s third-down conversion, which placed them at the beginning of the Steelers’ red zone area.
Fitzpatrick’s big play turned the tide for the Steelers, as they were getting outplayed by the Colts.
Bad penalties and bad turnovers don’t go together
Even for a team known as the “Cardiac” Colts, you don’t want to take much pride in that nickname. There’s a distinct difference between being clutch and being lucky over the course of games. And while the AFC South leader had their moments at repeating such heroics, their lack of discipline was more than enough to stop them.
As a team, the Colts committed seven penalties and gave the ball away twice on Sunday. But what made those mistakes bigger than what they were, was when it happened. Whether it was linebacker Darius Leonard being called for unnecessary roughness or the offensive line being guilty of holding or illegal usage of their hands, each mistake seemed to kill their drives on either side of the ball.
When really looking into it, out of the Steelers’ 26 points, the Colts actually contributed to 16 of them and how much did the Colts lose by? Two points.
You need another receiver? Call on Zach
Everybody can ask for opportunities, but that doesn’t mean they’ll take advantage of them. Especially when they’re in the exact position to do something about it. The Colts are looking for anybody to step up at wide receiver with T.Y. Hilton being out because of injury, and only one player has stepped up in recent weeks: Zach Pascal.
Following his standout performance in Week 7 (six catches, 106 receiving yards, and two touchdowns), the Old Dominion product was again called upon to be a leading target for the Colts and he certainly played the part on Sunday. Pascal not only caught five out of six passes for 76 yards and one touchdown, but his skill-set showed noticeable growth.
Pascal was consistently getting off the line of scrimmage with no problem as a route runner over the middle or deep, he created enough separation from defenders. That was exactly what the Colts needed from one of their young receivers.
What can we honestly say at this point?
I mentioned in last week’s takeaways article how kicker Adam Vinatieri was defining the term “up and down” this season but after Sunday’s game, it’s becoming bigger than just kicking. Between the feelings of the Colts’ fan base and the man himself, it is truly up and down when discussing Vinatieri’s kicking at this very moment.
Following his game-winning field goal against the Broncos in Week 8, there were no more heroics left for the future Hall of Famer on Sunday. Not only did Vinatieri miss half of his four attempts but his last miss prevented the Colts from taking the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Whether you want to blame the windy conditions at Heinz Field or say it was a “bad hold”, it comes down to this: Vinatieri didn’t get the job done and this is another example of his kicking costing the Colts another potential win.
