EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville) — With first place in the AFC North on the line against the Jaguars, the Colts knew a loss on the scoreboard would be costly Sunday.
The loss on the field, with quarterback Daniel Jones sustaining an Achilles injury feared to be season-ending, could be much worse.
“It hurts. It’s a dagger,” Colts cornerback Kenny Moore said at his locker after a 36-19 defeat.
“That was definitely a gut punch,” said running back Jonathan Taylor, whose team has lost four of five after a 7-1 start. “We’ve got to catch ourselves. You’ve got to find some way, somehow, to catch yourself. You’re going into a free-fall, whatever it takes, individually and collectively, to put your foot down … to say we’re not going to continue to let this snowball.”
Only one NFL team in the past 25 years has opened 7-1 and missed the playoffs, but there’s a real danger of that if Jones is lost as expected and the Colts need to rally around rookie Riley Leonard, the team’s No. 3 quarterback. Leonard, who had thrown two NFL passes before Sunday, had 145 passing yards and a rushing touchdown in his first real NFL action.
“The biggest thing today for me was to walk off to the sidelines and have guys like [Colts guard] Quenton Nelson come as much as me and say he believes in me,” stated Leonard, a sixth-round choose from Notre Dame. “All people on the sideline was simply very supportive. … I nonetheless say they imagine in me, so I take that and run with it.”
Prressed into service, rookie quarterback Riley Leonard went 18-for-29 for 145 yards with one interception towards the Jaguars. (Picture by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)
Two months into the season, Jones was the shock star within the Colts’ sudden success, with 13 touchdowns towards two interceptions of their 7-1 begin. Indianapolis had survived the struggles of Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 total choose in 2023, pivoting to Jones on a one-year, $14 million contract. On the commerce deadline, they went all-in, sending their subsequent two first-round picks to the Jets for nook Sauce Gardner, who missed Sunday’s sport with a calf damage.
Richardson is on injured reserve with an eye fixed damage and there is no timetable for his return, so as a substitute of Jones, the Colts should attempt to gather themselves and rally round a rookie quarterback. Their ultimate 4 opponents — the Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars and Texans — signify a frightening stretch. All 4 groups have information pretty much as good as or higher than the Colts’, and all are vying for playoff positioning.
So what does coach Shane Steichen inform his gamers about bouncing again and having to play effectively within the ultimate 4 video games?
“Dang proper we do,” Steichen stated on the rostrum after the loss. “We have got to get this one cleaned up, and it is all in regards to the subsequent one. Shoot, we have got the whole lot we would like in entrance of us, you understand? We have got to get this factor cleaned up and prepare for Seattle. We have got a giant one on the highway. That is the message proper there.”
The Colts’ issues had began lengthy earlier than Jones went down Sunday. Their lone win prior to now 4 video games was an time beyond regulation escape towards the Falcons in Berlin, with one-score losses to the Steelers, Chiefs and Texans. They did not begin effectively towards Jacksonville, giving up touchdowns on back-to-back drives for a 14-7 deficit earlier than Jones went down with a non-contact damage. The Colts’ protection gave up two extra touchdowns by halftime, trailing 28-10 on the way in which to giving up a season-high 36 factors.
“We have got to rally and be a brotherhood,” Moore stated. “We have got to execute the issues that we’re speaking about.”
Steichen was an NFL Coach of the 12 months candidate within the first half of the season, and now he is tasked with avoiding a virtually unprecedented collapse. For the reason that yr 2000, the one staff to start out 7-1 and miss the playoffs was the 2012 Bears, who nonetheless managed to complete 10-6 and lose out on a tiebreaker. The Colts would want two wins to match that complete, and there are not any straightforward wins left on the schedule.
The Colts had a 68% probability of creating the playoffs based on The Athletic’s playoff simulator earlier than Sunday’s sport, and the loss drops them to a fair 50%, although it does not really feel as straightforward as a coin flip. Two of these ultimate 4 video games are rematches of their final two divisional losses to the Texans and Jaguars. A 2-2 end would seemingly get them within the playoffs, however to try this with a rookie quarterback and a staff that is misplaced three straight and 4 out of 5 will not be straightforward.
“As you undergo a season, you are going to undergo some storms and a few adversity,” Steichen stated. “You have to overcome these, and that is a part of being an expert athlete and a coach, staying regular via that course of, to maintain believing and preventing like loopy. So that is what we will do. We will struggle like loopy and imagine, and we all know that we have got a giant one developing on the highway.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand spent a decade masking the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Occasions and The Athletic. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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