It took a late rally a week ago for the Indianapolis Colts to top the Houston Texans, but this weekend’s game was all Rams all the time. After falling down 38 to 0, the Colts were able to muster just eight points, losing by 30 to a team that isn’t even in the postseason talk. Now we have to start wondering, what’s wrong with the Indianapolis Colts?
This isn’t the first hint of trouble we’ve seen in Indianapolis. The Chargers shut down the Colts earlier this year. That’s not a winning formula for the Colts either. Indianapolis lives and dies by their own offensive production, and in recent weeks, Andrew Luck and the Colts’ offense has had a difficult time getting anything going.
When analyzing the stats from their most recent performance, it takes very little time to find huge problems with the Colts’ offensive attack. As a team, Indianapolis rushed for just 18 yards on 14 carries.
The other glaring issue the Colts dealt with on Sunday was an inability to keep the Rams out of the endzone, even from great distances. The Rams kicked off the game by returning a fumble 45-yards for a touchdown. After scoring a short rushing touchdown, the Rams backed that fumble recovery up with a 98-yard punt return for a score.
To this point, the Colts have been able to suppress opponents on offense while scoring plenty on their own, but the Colts have regressed as the season has worn on. The Colts will likely go on to win the AFC South, especially with the Titans losing to the Jaguars, but there’s little hope for the postseason if they can’t clean their play up in the most fundamental aspects of the game.
Essentially, the Rams never had to beat the Colts. Too many points were given away by the Colts, and St. Louis was able to play an extremely conservative game, even as they piled points on the Colts.
At 6-3, the Colts don’t have to worry too much about their playoff seeding just yet, but they have the Titans up next on Thursday Night Football. If the Colts can’t get themselves together before that date, the Titans may be right back in the divisional race.
