The Indianapolis Colts dropped their 5th consecutive game and now cling to life support for their playoff chances. Last week, we saw one of the best defensive performances of the season, which allowed Philip Rivers a chance to win on the road in Seattle. This week, it was just the opposite: Philip Rivers delivered a terrific performance, while the Colts’ defense was a catastrophic disaster.
This was the worst performance we have seen this season. At a time when they needed to deliver a strong performance, they completely wilted. The Colts’ defense gave up a season-high 41 points and 440 total yards of offense. The numbers did not get better as they allowed 28 first downs (20 passing), and the Niners were 7-11 on 3rd down.
If there was a bright spot, it was head coach Shane Steichen‘s offensive game plan. For all the failures of this game, it was the offensive plan from Steichen and the execution from Rivers that was impressive to watch. Unfortunately, the run game has become non-existent, and while Rivers has lost the zip he once had, his game management is still second to none. We will break it all down after another frustrating performance.
Colts QB Philip Rivers had a strong performance despite the loss to the San Francisco 49ers. // Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Rivers Proving His Worth With Steichen
As mentioned above, Rivers was terrific last night, specifically as a game manager. That’s all this team needed from him after the injury to Daniel Jones. Rivers gives them a chance to win each week with his preparation and ability to lead an offense. Yes, it takes a minute for the ball to get to the spot, but that was expected.
You could tell the whole week of practice was beneficial, and his connection with Alec Pierce and Josh Downs is growing. Both dazzled through the air as Pierce caught both Rivers’ TDs, and Downs was his safety net. The Niners did a great job on coverage of Tyler Warren, and he was a non-factor this week as he caught only three of his nine targets.
For all the faults of this organization since Daniel Jones went down, the addition of Philip Rivers has been superb. Will the team have an opportunity to recoup the investment? Now, they likely will not, due to the defense’s poor play and more injuries piling up on the offensive line.
Defensive Disaster and Self-Inflicted Special Teams Wounds
I will give a bit of slack for the injuries this football team has suffered defensively. They have harmed the football team, but to perform this poorly with so much on the line is truly embarrassing, especially after such a great showing on the road in Seattle.
What we saw this week was just miserable to watch. With Gus Bradley in the building and coaching the Niners, it was like watching the same defense that we balked about all last season. The defense on third down was unacceptable, and the linebackers’ coverage continues to regress. The Niners were able to exploit Indy’s biggest weakness. The receivers were not only open all the time but also had significant gaps in coverage.
Two major turning points in the game were special teams failures. The Ameer Abdullah fumble on Indy’s second kickoff return forced the Colts to play from behind the rest of the game. In the second half, Tyler Goodson was able to pop a significant return on a kickoff that would have set up terrific field position after a Niners scoring drive. That run was negated by not one, but two holding calls on the return. The Colts could not get sustained momentum throughout the game.
Looking Ahead To Jacksonville and Beyond
With a fifth straight loss, it’s fair to ask where this team is headed now and in the future. This team seemed primed for a breakout early in the season and is now headed back to football purgatory that we are all used to in the Chris Ballard regime. A regime that has been unable to put all the pieces together at one time.
I gave Ballard and this staff credit for the Sauce Gardner trade at the deadline. They recognized a weakness and absolutely went for the kill shot. At the time, it made sense because they had a quarterback who would return and mesh well with the offensive scheme. As we head back to purgatory, not having a first-round pick for the next two seasons now brings a more ominous feel to the offseason.
We all would have ripped Ballard to shreds if he didn’t make a move at the deadline. While it has not worked out, the Daniel Jones injury and other team injuries have not helped either. A once-promising draft class has proven to be ineffective this season, and the addition of Charvarius Ward has not worked out so far. Not saying it won’t, but at this very moment, it is not.
Steichen and this coaching staff bear significant blame as well. When was the last time this football team rose to the occasion and won a big football game under Shane Steichen? I’ll assist you here; they have not, and this week gave you no reason to believe they can otherwise.
We don’t know what the future holds in the offseason, but with Jacksonville this week, the test will not get any easier. The hottest team in football will hope to repeat the performance against Indianapolis that they had a few weeks ago. To refresh everyone’s memories, they shredded the Colts 36-19 in Jacksonville. With another do-or-die moment ahead of them, the Colts have a chance to prove me wrong, but it appears unlikely as the season continues to spiral completely out of control.
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