Week 13 was a rollercoaster of a ride for the Indianapolis Colts.
After defeat to the Detroit Lions the previous week, the Colts hit the road for a match up with AFC rivals the New England Patriots.
Let’s start with the positives. They got the win. And for the second time in three weeks Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson led a fourth quarter drive to win his team the game.
This time it was a sensational 19 plays for 80 yards ending with a fourth and goal touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 14 seconds left on the clock.
That was then followed by a gutsy call from head coach Shane Steichen to go for an additional two points, instead of the usual one point conversion.
Had Indy not converted, they would have lost the game, and quite probably their season was gone to.
Coach Steichen put the ball in the hands of Richardson, and he duly punched it into the end zone.
Big risk, big reward. Colts up by one point with 12 seconds remaining.
A chance to celebrate and relax?
Wrong. Here is why.
Coming into the game the New England Patriots were ranked dead last for total offense in the NFL.
Luckily for them, they ran into a Colts defense that were in a generous mood by allowing them to score on their first four possessions.
It would have been five, if not for a missed field goal right at the end of the first half.
In fact, so generous were Indy feeling, that it was deep into the fourth quarter before the Pats offense had to punt the ball away.
It was really quite a chastening day for the defense. They conceded a total of 422 yards at Foxborough, at an average of six yards per play, per NFL.
They were also unable get off the field, losing the time of play battle by allowing New England 34.12 of the total game on the field.
So when the Colts gave the ball back with 12 seconds to play, many an Indy fan was sitting a little uncomfortably.
In fact, opposing quarterback Drake Maye marched his team into a position where they were able to have one last shot at victory, with what would have been an NFL field goal record. It fell just short.
The defensive showing, coupled with a few dropped catches on offense and it was a ‘result papers over the cracks’ kind of day.
The trend continues
Beating a team that they should beat is very ‘on trend’ for the 2024 Indianapolis Colts. They now have a bye week, and need to use it to try and correct the errors of this weekend.
When they return, they face a Denver Broncos team with a 7-5 record.
To go against their season trend, a much improved performance on both sides of the ball will be needed.
And if the Colts want to keep their season alive that is exactly what has to happen.
