Enjoy a Win, Indianapolis Colts Fans, But Don't Ignore How This 4-2 Team is Playing
INDIANAPOLIS — When the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line basically shoved back the Indianapolis Colts defenders for a Joe Mixon 7-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 just four seconds into the second quarter on Sunday, there was a loud noise in an adjacent room next to the Lucas Oil Stadium press box.
An understandably excited Bengals assistant coach was screaming for the referee to signal a touchdown. And those ref’s arms eventually raised.
At that moment, anyone watching with an interest in the Colts had to be thinking the same thing.
What the hell is going on here?
I couldn’t have been the only one taken aback by how the Colts started this game against the Bengals, who were eight-point road underdogs. The Bengals were unable to score a touchdown in last Sunday’s 27-3 loss at Baltimore.
But just like that, they had three TDs on a Colts defense that entered with the NFL’s No. 1 ranking.
Something is amiss in Indy, fans.
And it’s not just an impressive defensive ranking skewed by the opponents the Colts have played. Before the hate mail starts to question that fact, be advised the combined record of Colts opponents dropped to 12-23-1 on this day.
That’s why the Colts’ 31-27 comeback win over the Bengals to get to 4-2 just doesn’t seem that impressive. Colts head coach Frank Reich called the first home comeback from 21 points down in franchise history a “huge” win.
No, the Colts escaped a huge embarrassment.
That’s why a bye week comes at an ideal time for the ongoing narrative about all the good things this team has done. The record and the performance are misleading, sorry to say.
Look at what happened to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Yeah, the team that beat the Colts 32-23 last Sunday. The Browns went out and got thumped 38-7 at Pittsburgh.
The Colts get to visit the Steelers (5-0) on Dec. 27 in the penultimate game of the regular season. Anybody with a long memory doesn’t need to be reminded of the Colts’ struggles when they travel to Heinz Field.
The next time the Colts are at home, after the bye and a road trip to Detroit (2-3), they host the Ravens (5-1). And don’t think for one second that anyone should be sleeping on a road trip against the Lions. The Colts lost their season opener to Jacksonville (1-5), which hasn’t won a game since. Translation: the Colts can lose to anybody, but perhaps more importantly, there’s tremendous doubt about if they can beat a legitimate playoff team.
I can’t be the only one thinking this.
Green Bay (4-1) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers visit Lucas Oil Stadium, too. There’s also a road trip to Las Vegas, and the Raiders (3-2) proved how capable they can be with a road win over the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Until the Colts play the Lions in two weeks, there will be plenty to read about what this team has done well to get to 4-2. This defense is better than in years past, but it’s not so stingy that it can dominate the Bengals.
And an offense that needed to rely on quarterback Philip Rivers was able to get the job done as the 17th-year pro threw three TD passes. But Rivers still reminded that he takes unnecessary risks — even on a day when he passed for 371 yards, he forced a deep ball into double coverage that was intercepted when the Colts had a chance to put this game away in the fourth quarter.
Enough has already been written about Rivers and his gunslinging nature. We know what can happen when he takes chances. He has six interceptions in as many games. Five of those were on him, including a pick-six at Cleveland which is one of the worst throws witnessed in years.
Seriously, the Colts aren’t running the ball like a year ago, despite having a promising young talent in rookie running back Jonathan Taylor. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton hasn’t had a 100-yard receiving game in 16 regular-season starts — think he noticed Marcus Johnson led the Colts with 108 yards receiving on five receptions? Yeah, a guy who has been cut, re-signed, and been a yo-yo between the active roster and practice squad had his first career 100-yard receiving game.
The Bengals had allowed a league-high 22 sacks before Sunday. The Colts managed to get rookie quarterback Joe Burrow just twice. Like so many other things with the Colts, that’s not good enough.
Fans who only want to read the positives don't want to accept nor see how the Colts' flaws are going to loom larger down the road. And that’s OK.
When it happens, nothing needs to be said other than it was expected.
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
