5 Things Learned: Colts Postseason Margin For Error On Ice

1. Missed Tackling Galore

Missed Tackling Galore: Sunday had to be the worst tackling day of the Colts season. Countless times on Sunday the Colts had chances in space or in the backfield to make plays for a minimal gain, or tackles for loss. Instead, continued whiffs opened the up Atlanta opportunities to sustain drives and up a totally out of normal Falcons offensive day, given their 2023 norm. The defense had tackling problems early on, a missed potential pick-six chance by Zaire Franklin right before half and a key injury to Julian Blackmon (shoulder). Entering Sunday, no Colts player had played more snaps this season than Blackmon. A Blackmon absence extending multiple weeks would be a notable loss. The Falcons entered Sunday averaging 18 points per game, good for 26^th in the NFL. With their backup QB, they churned out a handful of 7-play scoring drives, adding up to arguably the worst defensive effort of the season for the Colts, especially given the opponent. The Colts defense is healthy and has no excuse for this sort of effort. And, oh yeah, Atlanta’s 29 points scored are a season-high.

2. Margin For Error Thinning

Margin For Error Thinning: If the Colts were going to lose 1 of their final 3 games, this was the game to drop. What this loss does do is just eliminate really any margin for error moving forward. If the Colts are able to win their next two, they still should make the playoffs. A home loss though to the Raiders or Texans to end the season will probably mean the Colts are watching the postseason for a third straight season. Entering Sunday, if the Colts lost to the Falcons, but then went on to beat the Raiders and Texans, their playoff chances were still above 90 percent. A Falcons loss though, coupled with another in one of these final two weeks, and those playoff chances shrink to around 25 percent or less. This defeat just puts ample pressure on the Colts returning to Lucas Oil Stadium at 8-7 needing to take care of business in their final two games of the season. And it’s another reminder that is mostly an average football team that is largely in this position thanks to a very favorable schedule.

3. Good Day For Michael Pittman Jr.’s Contract Negotiations

Good Day For Michael Pittman Jr.’s Contract Negotiations: After going through a full week of prep under the assumption Michael Pittman Jr. would be ready to go, the fourth-year wideout developed concussion-like symptoms on Saturday, so he was ruled OUT for the Falcons game, missing his first contest of the season. While this late-week scratch due to a concussion has happened to the Colts before this year (Ryan Kelly), it’s still a bit unusual to see, after the player was cleared by an independent neurologist, which happened for Pittman Jr. on Friday. Pittman Jr., who did still travel to the game in Atlanta, will now re-enter concussion protocol and try to progress through the 5-step process in time for next Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders. Life without Pittman Jr. tested the Colts greatly on Sunday. Both Josh Downs and Alec Pierce dropped catchable throws from Gardner Minshew. And an expanded role for D.J. Montgomery didn’t lead to anywhere near normal Pittman production. In fact, outside receivers in Pierce and Montgomery combined for 4 catches and 30 yards. That’s a far cry from the weekly known commodity in Pittman Jr. Talk about a great afternoon for Pittman Jr.’s side of pending contract negotiations.

4. Jekyll And Hyde Offensive Line

Jekyll And Hyde Offensive Line: Sunday’s offensive line performance was more reminiscent what we saw two weeks ago against the Bengals vs last week against the Steelers. Issues in the run game, coupled with a far too often collapsing pocket had a depleted Indy passing game swimming upstream. While offensive trench issues included individual breakdowns everywhere, the Colts young offensive tackles felt the power from the Falcons defensive line. Blake Freeland, starting once again for Smith, looked like a rookie, something that hasn’t been the case all year long. On a day when the Colts needed to lean on their resource-invested offensive line, that group struggled in the run and pass game. Minshew was sacked 6 times. After Jonathan Taylor started the game with 2 carries for 19 yards, JT had just 24 yards on his next 16 carries. And in responding from his finest performance of the 2023 season, Gardner Minshew looked more like the lackluster QB the Colts have had this season. Granted, the loss of Michael Pittman Jr. was felt majorly, with a subpar wideout group not aiding Minshew. But more than any of this, the Colts can’t afford Jekyll and Hyde from their offensive line, and that’s what they are getting right now.

5. Missing Tony Brown?

Missing Tony Brown? I don’t want to overreact to this, but a critical sequence in this game occurred early on in a situation when the Colts and Falcons were tied at 7. While the mid-week suspensions to Tony Brown and Isaiah McKenzie didn’t lead to a whole lot of chatter about their on-field losses the rest of the regular season, you did have a big-time rookie moment from special teamer Ameer Speed. Taking on more of a special team focused role without Brown, Speed committed an inexcusable offsides penalty on a 4^th-and-5 field goal attempt by the. Falcons, which was missed. But the Falcons decided to go for the 4^th-and-inches after the penalty. They converted it, and that new life ended with Atlanta getting a field goal (penalty led to 3 Falcons points, and gave them a lead they never lossed). Remember, Speed is also the culprit of running into Isaiah McKenzie two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Again, this is nowhere near the biggest reason why the Colts lost this game, but it should be noted as an important play when this game was still very much in doubt.

6. QUICK HITTERS

QUICK HITTERS

-Injury Report: The following Colts were inactive on Sunday: WR-Michael Pittman Jr. (concussion), RB-Zack Moss (Arm), RT-Braden Smith (knee), LB-Segun Olubi (groin), OL-Jack Anderson (illness), CB-Darrell Baker Jr., DT-Eric Johnson II. The following players got injured and did not return: S-Julian Blackmon (shoulder).

–Key Stat: Jonathan Taylor had 31 rushing yards on his final 16 carries in returning to game action against the Falcons.

-What’s Next: The Colts (8-7) are back at home for their final two games of the season, starting with the Raiders (6-8) next Sunday at 1:00 PM.