The Colts understood they needed to play one of their best games to have a shot on Sunday against one of the NFL’s best teams.
Indianapolis spent the most of the day shooting itself in the foot.
The Colts suffered a 24-6 loss to the NFC-leading Detroit Lions on Sunday, losing the final game in the season’s most difficult stretch.
The schedule lightens significantly after this week, and Indianapolis (5-7) is in contention for a postseason spot, thanks to a big matchup against Denver.
However, Sunday’s game was littered with lost opportunities to secure a win that would have propelled Indianapolis into the playoffs.
1. Penalties, red zone failures loom large
The Indianapolis offense got off to a good start behind Anthony Richardson.
The Colts gained more than 200 yards of offense in the first half and twice drove inside the 10-yard line, but the offensive line failed to create any opportunities for Jonathan Taylor on the first trip and tight end Drew Ogletree dropped a touchdown pass on the second, forcing Indianapolis to settle for field goals.
The two missed opportunities loomed enormous.
For most of the first half, the Colts offense kept pace with the Lions in terms of yards per play, but Detroit capitalized on its opportunities, staking the Lions to a 14-6 lead.
Penalties prevented the Indianapolis offense from getting back on track in the second half.
The Colts were penalized 10 times for 75 yards, wiping out at least 74 yards of Richardson’s completed throws, and Detroit declined at least two extra penalties.
The Indianapolis offensive came to a standstill in the second half, unable to move out of its own way.
2. Anthony Richardson gets no help
Richardson’s figures, 11 of 28 for 172 yards, resemble his starts from the first half of the season rather than the breakout effort he turned into a win over the Jets last week.
The stats do not tell the truth.
Richardson wasn’t great, but he wasn’t nearly as horrible as the figures suggested. The Colts quarterback had at least 74 yards of passes wiped out by penalties, another lengthy gain erased when Ashton Dulin couldn’t keep his feet in bounds, and a few throws into the dirt to avoid making a bigger mistake.
Under constant pressure, Richardson ran for 61 yards on 10 carries, putting together a start that looks better on film than it will on paper.
3. Colts offensive line struggling
The issues up front have been simmering for a few weeks.
Indianapolis has started three rookies on the offensive line, and Taylor’s performance has suffered as a result, with most plays restricted to a couple of hard-earned yards due to the lack of running room.
The difficulties have reached a fever pitch. Richardson was not fired, but he was hit six times, and those figures were kept low by the number of throwaways he produced. Taylor gained just 35 yards on 11 carries.
The Colts offensive line also played a significant role in the offense’s penalty total, with holds and false starts causing problems on a day when they couldn’t get anything going. Dalton Tucker, an undrafted rookie right guard, continues to struggle, and without blocking up front, Indianapolis can’t get much going.
4. Indianapolis defense can’t come up with the big play
The Colts defense held its own against a Detroit offense that had been averaging more than 39 points per game over the previous seven games.
Indianapolis, led by DeForest Buckner, sacked Jared Goff three times and made enough plays to keep the score close.
However, the Colts never forced a turnover, left the center of the field open, and struggled to make plays in the red zone, surrendering 391 yards and 24 points on a day when a sloppy Indianapolis offense needed to be nearly flawless against the NFL’s top offensive to have a shot.
