To open the 2019 season, the Indianapolis Colts traveled west to face the Los Angeles Chargers in a battle between playoff contenders. And while it was certainly entertaining, the Colts fell short in overtime, 30-24.
After a steady stream of mishaps and highlight plays, the Colts couldn’t overcome their mistakes as the Chargers won the coin toss in overtime and scored a touchdown first.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ season-opening loss:
Have no fear … Jacoby is here
If there’s anything that could serve as a huge positive for Colts fans, especially in the wake of Andrew Luck’s retirement, it is that there isn’t an obvious drop-off with Jacoby Brissett as quarterback. Whether we’re looking at his production or pure ability, Brissett had a successful performance in Week 1 and validated anybody who believes in him.
Completing 21 out of 27 passes and throwing for two touchdowns to T.Y. Hilton, Brissett looked very calm and poised, and showed the potential to improve further.
Mack’s performance more than historic
Entering Sunday’s game, there was a clear understanding of what running back Marlon Mack can do for the Colts offense. But as the game went on, especially in the second half, fans got a clear glimpse of what the Colts offense could become this season.
The offense was most successful with Mack leading it. He not only rushed for a career-high 174 yards, the 11th-highest total in Colts history, but he scored a touchdown and converted the game-tying two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
There was something about each of Mack’s runs that highlighted his tremendous growth in terms of power, quickness and vision. Mack showed how he can be the driving force for this offense.
Colts gave Philip Rivers too many chances
When looking at the overall picture of Sunday’s game, the Colts’ three penalties for 10 yards doesn’t seem bad at all. But that kind of thought gets challenged by how impactful those penalties really were.
Out of the Colts’ three penalties, two came on defense and were each followed by a Chargers touchdown. The first costly penalty was when Denico Autry got called for unnecessary roughness on fourth down on the Chargers’ second offensive drive. Not only did Autry’s penalty resulted in a first down, but quarterback Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass two plays later.
The next Colts penalty occurred at the beginning of the second half. Defensive end Keomko Turay successfully strip-sacked Rivers on third down, but it didn’t count because Justin Houston had jumped offside. What happened next? Rivers threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to running back Austin Ekeler.
Colts couldn’t contain Keenan Allen
In my last article on Colts Wire, I mentioned the matchup of any Colts defensive back against Allen, the Chargers’ top wide receiver, as being a top-three matchup for this game. Allen is truly a Pro Bowl talent and has a skill set and body type many defenders across the league can’t defend. And the Colts found themselves on the wrong end of this.
Whether it was Rock Ya-Sin, Pierre Desir or even Kenny Moore, the Colts secondary couldn’t contain Allen as he soon produced eight catches for 123 receiving yards and one touchdown. It was easy to notice how savvy he is with his route running and that he isn’t bothered by press coverage or hand fighting.
The unimaginable occurs for Adam Vinatieri
All kickers miss kicks. But not all kickers are Adam Vinatieri, which makes his surprisingly poor performance on Sunday such a big topic. The future Hall of Famer missed two out of three field goal attempts and an extra-point against the Chargers.
But it wasn’t just the fact Vinatieri missed, which in itself is surprising. It was how he missed. The 24th-year veteran had misses that weren’t close, and he often looked uncomfortable and frustrated. While this could be something worth monitoring, it also could just have been an off day for the 46-year-old.
