Well, it was fun while it lasted. As the Indianapolis Colts (6-7) entered Sunday’s game, their dimming playoff hopes were depended on their efforts to win out and receive much help along the way. While one of their main competitors did lose at home, the Colts couldn’t help themselves as they ultimately lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 38-35.
It was another week consisting of blown second-half leads and costly mistakes as the Colts fell below .500, for just the second time this season. With only three games remaining, this AFC South competitor now has a 2% chance of making the playoffs and will need even more help in order to do so.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ Week 14 loss:
Leonard possibly had the best game of his career
I know this headline can be considered a little crazy since linebacker Darius Leonard has had plenty of memorable performances, but I don’t believe it is far fetched. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year made history in Sunday’s game while also taking it over at times.
For the first time in his pro-playing career, Leonard came up with multiple interceptions and returned one for a touchdown, his first pick-six ever. Lastly, the man who’s better known as “Maniac” entered his name in the record books. Since 1982, Leonard is the one and only defensive player who has recorded 10+ sacks and over five interceptions in his first 25 career games.
Another target emerges in Johnson
Even though the conversation surrounding the Colts’ receiving corps has been ongoing in recent weeks, it hasn’t taken away from when someone actually steps up. At first, we celebrated the performance of Zach Pascal, who once again played well on Sunday, and now it’s wide receiver Marcus Johnson’s turn in the spotlight.
The Texas product single-handily resurrected an absent part of the Colts’ passing game, which was going downfield. By catching a 46-yard touchdown pass during the first quarter and then a 50-yard completion, later on, Johnson proved to be the downfield threat, this offense desperately needed.
Johnson’s final stats were three catches for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Tampa Bay’s offense is as advertised
When discussing the Buccaneers’ offense, one thing that was constantly highlighted was their ability to produce an incredible number of yards. Even with quarterback Jameis Winston’s terrible knack for committing turnovers, it hasn’t stopped him or the Buccaneers from producing the league’s third-most yardage of offense (392.8).
Despite committing three turnovers against the Colts, Winston and his teammates still produced 38 points and 542 total yards, with 467 yards coming from their passing game. And to make matters worse, the Bucs scored 17 consecutive points to finish this game.
Brissett did play much better this week
I know as of this writing, a portion of Colts fans and media are still very critical of quarterback Jacoby Brissett, but let’s make something clear. By all intents and purposes, the Colts’ QB1 did play a much better game against Tampa Bay and it was easily his best performance in weeks.
By producing 251 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers, while also not being sacked multiple times, Brissett gave the Colts a fair chance to win. It also doesn’t hurt, he helped their offense score its third-most points in a game this entire season.
With only three games remaining, the hope is that the NC State product can finish on a high note and silence his critics.
A new era has begun at kicker
So much has been said about the Colts’ kicking situation, whether it was related to kicker Adam Vinatieri or the entire special teams unit. And while there was always going to be a day, where Vinny wasn’t kicking for the Colts, it still felt a little seeing it happen, especially with today’s news about the future Hall of Famer having season-ending knee surgery.
But as they say, life goes on and that was the case on Sunday, as the Colts’ new kicker was Chase McLaughlin. The recent, ex-San Francisco 49er was signed this past week and immediately began preparing for this game just in case, Vinatieri couldn’t play.
Although McLaughlin missed a huge field goal that would have put the Colts up a touchdown in the fourth quarter, he still made five out of six kicks.
