Another Sunday, Another Colts Faceplant: Houston Takes the AFC South Lead

Alright, let’s call it what it is: another case of the Sunday Scaries for the Indianapolis Colts. For the third time in four weeks, the Colts found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of a perfectly winnable game. This time, the visiting Houston Texans were the gleeful recipients of Indy’s generosity, walking out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a 20-16 win and first place in the AFC South.

If you’re a Colts fan, this feeling is becoming as familiar as your post-Thanksgiving food coma. The team is now 8-4, looking up at the Texans and Jaguars, and left scratching their heads, wondering how they keep tripping over their own feet. It was a game defined by “what-ifs,” questionable calls, and a whole lot of frustration. Let’s break down this latest chapter of “How to Lose a Football Game You Should Have Won.”

Daniel Jones: Gutsy, But Not Exactly a Gunslinger

All week, the big story was Daniel Jones and his reportedly fractured fibula. Was he going to hobble around like a pirate with a peg leg? Would he be throwing off his back foot all day? Nope. To his credit, Jones looked surprisingly mobile. The leg didn’t seem to be a factor.

However, let’s not get carried away and start carving his bust for Canton. He wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire. Jones finished 14-for-27 for 201 yards, and honestly, that stat line is flattering to his receivers, who dropped at least three or four catchable passes. There were flashes, though. That 19-yard fade to Alec Pierce for a touchdown was a thing of beauty, dropped perfectly in the back of the end zone over double coverage. He even took a shot to the legs on a roughing the passer call and bounced right back up, silencing the critics who thought he was made of glass.

So, he was healthy. He was gritty. But spectacular? Not quite. The offense needed more, and they didn’t get it.

The Officials Had a Day, and It Wasn’t a Good One

You know it’s bad when the loudest cheer of the day is a stadium-wide serenade of “Ref, you suck!” And folks, they had a point. The officiating was, to put it mildly, a train wreck.

The turning point came on a 3rd-and-15 with the Texans driving. Kenny Moore II was flagged for a defensive pass interference that looked phantom on replay. The receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, seemed to just trip over his own feet on a crossing route. Moore was just in the vicinity, which apparently is a crime now. To add insult to injury, the play clock looked like it hit zero before the snap. No call.

Three plays later? Touchdown, Texans. Tie game, broken.

But wait, there’s more! The ensuing extra point looked like it hooked wide left, maybe sailing over the upright at best. The refs signaled it good, and what should have been a 19-13 game became 20-13. It felt like a seven-point swing on one drive, largely thanks to some questionable calls. The zebras giveth, and the zebras taketh away… mostly taketh away from the Colts.

Jonathan Taylor’s MVP Campaign is Officially on Life Support

Remember a few weeks ago when Jonathan Taylor was running through defenses like a hot knife through butter and we were all screaming “MVP”? Yeah, those were good times. That feels like a lifetime ago.

On Sunday, Taylor managed 85 yards on 21 carries. That’s not a terrible day at the office, but the explosive, game-breaking runs were nowhere to be found. His longest scamper was a mere 12 yards. Against a stout Texans defense, every yard felt like pulling teeth. The offensive line, which was once blowing open holes the size of the Grand Canyon, couldn’t get any push.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Unlike last week where they abandoned the run, the Colts stuck with it. But the steam engine that was the Colts’ run game a month ago has been downgraded to a sputtering lawnmower. Without Taylor as a constant home-run threat, the pressure falls back on Jones and a passing game that just isn’t consistent enough to carry the load.

Another Man Down: Sauce Gardner Injury Looms Large

The Colts’ defense is already banged up, and things just got worse. Star cornerback Sauce Gardner went down with a non-contact calf injury on just the second play of the game. He hobbled off, tried to walk it off, and was eventually seen in a walking boot. That’s never a good sign.

Losing your top corner against a team with a receiver like Nico Collins is a recipe for disaster. Collins went off for 98 yards, and C.J. Stroud often had all day to throw. With DeForest Buckner already out, the pass rush was non-existent. The secondary fought hard, but losing Gardner was a blow they just couldn’t absorb. You can’t keep patching holes on a ship and expect it not to sink.

The Kicking Woes Continue

Can we talk about the kicker? Seriously. Michael Badgley missed another extra point. That’s his third miss in seven games. In a league where every point matters, that’s just unacceptable.

That missed PAT came back to haunt them in the most painful way possible. On the final drive, the Colts were at the Texans’ 31-yard line. A field goal would have tied it… if Badgley hadn’t shanked the earlier PAT. Instead of a chip-shot field goal to send it to overtime, they needed a touchdown. They went for it on fourth-and-9, the pass fell incomplete, and that was all she wrote. Game over. A loss directly linked to a missed kick from weeks past. You can’t make this stuff up.

The Colts have a kicker problem, and they need to solve it before it costs them another game. Oh wait, it already did.