Source: Justin Edmonds / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1075TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.
The Colts (6-8) had too much second-half bad in Sunday’s 31-13 loss to the Broncos (9-5).
What was the good and bad from the Colts losing such a critical December game?
1. Hits: Defense
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Defense: Wow, we haven’t had this unit in the “hits” category often this season. But a credit to Gus Bradley’s unit for making Bo Nix look like a rookie quarterback. The Colts defense was put into some awful sudden change situations yet answered the call on nearly all of them, despite the offensive and special teams issues. The Colts picked Nix 3 times. How historic is a Colts loss with 3 interceptions in a game? Dating back to the turn of the century, the Colts had won 27 of their last 28 games when recording at least 3 picks. Not only did the Colts lose on Sunday, but they lost by 18 points.
2. Hits: Zaire Franklin
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Zaire Franklin: Individually, I felt Zaire Franklin deserved a shout out for his effort on Sunday. I don’t think the 9-tackle, 1 interception game totally reflects the impact of some of Franklin’s play. He made several plays in space, behind the line of scrimmage and appeared to fool Bo Nix a bit on a first-half interception, too.
3. Misses: Stupidity Galore
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Stupidity Galore: From Jonathan Taylor’s fumble to putting the season in the brain and right arm of rookie AD Mitchell, the Colts had plenty of major stupidity in their biggest game of the season. It’s not hyperbole to say the Taylor fumble cost the Colts the game. Period. One foot away from leading 20-7, to it unraveling with 24 straight scored by the Broncos. And then Shane Steichen’s decision to put Mitchell into that situation was absurd, especially at a time the Colts were down just 17-13, relying on strong defensive football to keep them in the game. Both were so dumb, as elementary as that sounds.
4. Misses: Anthony Richardson (And Support)
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Anthony Richardson (And Support): This was another Anthony Richardson game where he missed on 3 checkmarks: big plays in the passing game, too many turnovers and not enough efficiency. You can live with Richardson not checking 1, maybe 2, of those, but missing on all 3 can’t happen. This was a bad game from Richardson with the Colts passing game, once again, unable to find enough easy/steadiness in the passing game.
5. Misses: Punt Game
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Punt Game: From untimely penalties to a pair of big punt returns, Sunday was one of the poorer special teams days of the season for the Colts, especially in the punt game. One of the more underrated plays of the game was Denver punt returner Marvin Mims Jr. taking one 61 yards early in the 4th quarter, with the Broncos down 13-10. Two plays later, the Broncos scored on a 15-yard TD to take the lead. And 3 plays after that, AD Mitchell threw it to the other team for what felt like the game-sealing score. All of it stemmed from what Mims did to ignite a lifeless Broncos.
