oaklandhater
09-17-2017, 07:36 PM
Colts' mounting mistakes have them in familiar 0-2 hole
Mike Wells
ESPN Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts went from having a second life to being back in an all-too-familiar position in a matter of seconds.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, making his first start after he was acquired from New England two weeks ago, added to the fourth quarter and overtime list of mistakes when his first pass of the extra period was intercepted by Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The Cardinals ran three plays and then won the game 16-13 with a Phil Dawson field goal to complete the come-from-behind victory at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. Indianapolis has now started 0-2 in four straight seasons and in five of six years under coach Chuck Pagano. This only the second time that the Colts have blown at least a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a game under Pagano. The other time was last October when they lead Houston by 14 points in the fourth quarter and eventually lost in overtime.
"There are no moral victories," Pagano said. "We are 0-2 and it is what it is. We'll...keep working to get better and find a way to win a game."
The Dawson overtime field goal came after Pagano called a timeout with three seconds left in regulation to ice the kicker. Dawson missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
This loss wasn’t a matter of the other team simply dominating them -- this was a matter of the Colts self-destructing in the final quarter. The Colts had a 13-3 lead, and had put the Cardinals in a third-and-20 situation with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.
Then it started.
Palmer completed a 22-yard pass, and that play had 15 yards added on to it when Colts linebacker Jabaal Sheard was called for roughing the passer. The Cardinals scored on the very next play when J.J. Nelson caught a 45-yard touchdown pass between Colts rookie cornerback Quincy Wilson and safety Matthias Farley to cause some uneasiness.
"If I could take it back, I don't know if I would because I thought it was a clean hit," Sheard said. "We'll go back and look at it."
Then the Colts managed to kill only two minutes off the clock on a three-and-out drive. They gave the Cardinals another 15 yards when Kenny Moore II was called for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Kerwynn Williams after he'd called for a fair catch. That drive ended with a field goal to tie the score at 13-13.
Veteran teams know how to take advantage of the opponent's mistakes, and that's exactly what the Cardinals did to the Colts.
"Can't do it, can't do it," Pagano said. "You're in a one-score game. You can't beat yourself. It was a bad play on the punt. A young guy (Moore II) covering a punt. He's a young player, and he'll learn and he'll grow from it."
The collapse ended what was an impressive performance by the defense for more than three quarters. The unit, which started Wilson and fellow rookie Malik Hooker in the secondary, played with confidence, and they managed to get plenty of pressure on Carson Palmer. The defense sacked Palmer four times and picked him off once.
"That's on us," Colts linebacker John Simon said. "One of our goals every week is to limit big plays and we play well on first and second down and then we can't give them those options out of there when we have them on third and long. They're able to get some big yards on us. That hurts. It's something we have to watch film on."
It all that ended up being a waste.
And for the fourth straight year, the Colts have dug themselves a hole that they have to find a way to climb out of.
"We have to find a way to win," running back Frank Gore said. "It isn't we got blown out last week (against the Los Angeles Rams), this week we lose by three. We lost. Almost winning isn't going to get you in the playoffs."
Mike Wells
ESPN Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts went from having a second life to being back in an all-too-familiar position in a matter of seconds.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, making his first start after he was acquired from New England two weeks ago, added to the fourth quarter and overtime list of mistakes when his first pass of the extra period was intercepted by Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The Cardinals ran three plays and then won the game 16-13 with a Phil Dawson field goal to complete the come-from-behind victory at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. Indianapolis has now started 0-2 in four straight seasons and in five of six years under coach Chuck Pagano. This only the second time that the Colts have blown at least a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a game under Pagano. The other time was last October when they lead Houston by 14 points in the fourth quarter and eventually lost in overtime.
"There are no moral victories," Pagano said. "We are 0-2 and it is what it is. We'll...keep working to get better and find a way to win a game."
The Dawson overtime field goal came after Pagano called a timeout with three seconds left in regulation to ice the kicker. Dawson missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
This loss wasn’t a matter of the other team simply dominating them -- this was a matter of the Colts self-destructing in the final quarter. The Colts had a 13-3 lead, and had put the Cardinals in a third-and-20 situation with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.
Then it started.
Palmer completed a 22-yard pass, and that play had 15 yards added on to it when Colts linebacker Jabaal Sheard was called for roughing the passer. The Cardinals scored on the very next play when J.J. Nelson caught a 45-yard touchdown pass between Colts rookie cornerback Quincy Wilson and safety Matthias Farley to cause some uneasiness.
"If I could take it back, I don't know if I would because I thought it was a clean hit," Sheard said. "We'll go back and look at it."
Then the Colts managed to kill only two minutes off the clock on a three-and-out drive. They gave the Cardinals another 15 yards when Kenny Moore II was called for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Kerwynn Williams after he'd called for a fair catch. That drive ended with a field goal to tie the score at 13-13.
Veteran teams know how to take advantage of the opponent's mistakes, and that's exactly what the Cardinals did to the Colts.
"Can't do it, can't do it," Pagano said. "You're in a one-score game. You can't beat yourself. It was a bad play on the punt. A young guy (Moore II) covering a punt. He's a young player, and he'll learn and he'll grow from it."
The collapse ended what was an impressive performance by the defense for more than three quarters. The unit, which started Wilson and fellow rookie Malik Hooker in the secondary, played with confidence, and they managed to get plenty of pressure on Carson Palmer. The defense sacked Palmer four times and picked him off once.
"That's on us," Colts linebacker John Simon said. "One of our goals every week is to limit big plays and we play well on first and second down and then we can't give them those options out of there when we have them on third and long. They're able to get some big yards on us. That hurts. It's something we have to watch film on."
It all that ended up being a waste.
And for the fourth straight year, the Colts have dug themselves a hole that they have to find a way to climb out of.
"We have to find a way to win," running back Frank Gore said. "It isn't we got blown out last week (against the Los Angeles Rams), this week we lose by three. We lost. Almost winning isn't going to get you in the playoffs."