'It Definitely Stings': Colts' Adonai Mitchell Reacts to His 'Unacceptable' TD Fumble

Mitchell erased his own touchdown when he fumbled the ball while extending his arm into the end zone.

Mitchell erased two touchdowns on Sunday: once due to a fumble and again due to a holding penalty. / IndyStar TV / YouTube / Screensho

To say Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell did not have a good game on Sunday is an understatement.

Not only did the wideout fumble what would have been a go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter, allowing the ball to slip out of his hand then out of bounds as he extended his arm into the end zone, but he was also hit with a holding penalty late in the fourth, erasing what would have been another go-ahead TD from running back Jonathan Taylor. Considering the final score of the game was 27-20, it's not an exaggeration to think Indy could've won had either of those tuddys made it to the board.

Speaking after the fact, a dumbfounded Mitchell did his best to take accountability for what had happened, and said he would try to learn from his mistakes going forward.

"It definitely stings," Mitchell told reporters in the locker room, speaking on his fumble. "The ball was put in my hand to make a play for the team, and it was a matter of losing focus and just a play that just can't happen. Just unacceptable. I've just got to be better for the team and for the organization."

Regarding the costly penalty he received while blocking for JT, Mitchell said he was "just trying to make a play."

Speaking Monday, head coach Shane Steichen noted that Mitchell "took accountability in the team meeting" for the tough game.

"I had a conversation with him in my office today," the coach continued. "Just letting him know that this moment doesn’t define who you are as a person, but he knows going forward he is going to have to earn it ... in how he practices and how he prepares.”

Asked if he thought about benching Mitchell at all during the game, Steichen said, “I talked to him on the sideline. It was a tough situation."

"He felt it. We all felt it. But obviously, we needed him in that game with the receivers that we had. It was a tough deal, but obviously we talked to him and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to need you here, at some point again in the game.’ So that was kind of the conversation that was taking place."

And as for whether he will play vs. the Raiders next Sunday, “Yeah, I mean he’s going to go through practice,” Steichen continued. “And, like I said, he’s got to earn it going forward.”

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