No need to jump the gun. On Sunday, the reaction was the same at halftime of Lions-Colts.
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And in the end, the Colts had a chance to escape Lucas Oil Stadium with a victory that looked bleak in Sunday’s first half. In order to get a better understanding of the game and who was out there, let’s take a look at the snap counts for the Colts and see what we can learn. Another nine seconds lapsed after a short pass by quarterback Andrew Luck to wideout T.Y. Hilton got the Colts nowhere, before Indy made a decision to spend a timeout of its own.
Key players for the Lions in the win were running backs Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah and Dwayne Washington, who each scored at least one touchdown.
“This was a game that was there to be won, and we could not make a play at the end”, Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said, “We dug ourselves in a huge hole at 21-3”.
He completed passes to eight different receivers, led by rookie first-round pick Will Fuller, who became the first player in franchise history to have 100 yards receiving in a debut with 107 and a touchdown. Taking the timeout in and of itself was, arguably, not the worst offense. Sunday, their offense was almost unstoppable once it scored its first touchdown against the Lions. “When you miss like that, the second one can be hard”. Organization and a calm mind are required to win close games. “Defensively we played like s– and we have to play better”.
“I said we’ve been put in these situations”, Stafford said. “They are accustomed to it, and we change up scenarios all the time”. Yeah, but we had some personnel issues.
“I don’t care what anybody says about anything, in this league it’s hard to win a game anywhere, home or away”, Caldwell said. “We still got a long way to go”. Chuck could have bled clock AND still called the timeout. He’s right again, but it still must be questioned. The Colts had a chance to take their 1st lead of 2016. We could throw it anywhere with no penalty, really. And can any reasonable person assume yet that the Colts will fail their way to the upper third of the draft order?
The Colts missed too many tackles on the Lions’ final drive, and earlier in the game, too. Many were concerned he wouldn’t return to form but yesterday proved otherwise.
Indianapolis capitalized on their defensive win. And guys made plays. UFA Josh Ferguson showed his ability to get yards after the catch.
Would the Lions have used some of those timeouts if the Colts hadn’t used one with more than a minute left? It took four drives before the Colts were able to muster up any points.
Andrew Luck was a major reason why.
“It helps your passing game, keeps the wear and tear down on your quarterback, things of that nature”. That doesn’t mean they are gone forever.
Luck hadn’t played in a meaningful game since last November, so nobody was quite sure what to expect when he returned Sunday. Luck connected with Hilton yet again for another big gain, this time picking up 32 yards getting the Colts back in Detroit territory and threatening to score again. Stafford eventually led the team downfield for the game-winning field goal, but the defense’s self-combustion was a bit disconcerting.
2 – How do I get a rebate for the unused portion of my season tickets? Stop it! Stop the madness.
PATRIOTIC START: The Colts will hand out 60,000 American flags and will honor the 9/11 anniversary by paying tribute to first responders. That season included an opening night 29-13 beatdown to a Chicago Bears team that finished the season 9-7. “They gave us a lot of problems in those areas, I think things that we have to improve upon”.
They have a game plan that is generally run heavy and more concerned with ball control.
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Oakland had to overcome a 14-point second-half deficit and a 424-yard, four-touchdown performance by Drew Brees.
