Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis, IN- It wasn’t a good afternoon for football in Lucas Oil Stadium today. The Indianapolis Colts struggled for most of the afternoon, but had a chance to win it in the end. Andrew Luck had the ball 23 yards away from scoring another touchdown, which would have been his ninth, fourth quarter comeback in just his 18th regular season game.
Instead, the Achilles heel throughout two games this season thwarted those efforts.
The offensive line failed to block for Luck on two of the final three plays, as he was hurried by multiple white jerseys. He had tons of pressure on the fourth down, needing 10 yards to keep the game alive, but four Miami Dolphins players wrapped him up and forced him to throw a bad pass to no one.
That’s it. The Colts lose a must-win game 24-20 to the Dolphins.
They can thank the inability to protect him and the injuries to the line. He’s been sacked seven times in two games, and the pass rush by the opposition was the reason why they lost it in the end.
Newly signed guard Donald Thomas went down with a leg injury early in the first quarter and two more linemen Jeff Linkenbach and Khaled Holmes missed today’s game due to injuries. That left only six active linemen to play the rest of the way.
Then, on the other side of the ball, the secondary got eaten alive all day.
Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace and tight end Charles Clay showed some big weaknesses in the secondary, as both went for over 100 yards receiving. Wallace had 115 yards on nine receptions and a touchdown, while Clay added 109 yards on five catches of his own. Brian Hartline also had five receptions for 68 yards, which gave the Dolphins a huge boost.
They can’t blame a pass rush, as the Colts sacked Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill five times and forced three fumbles on him.
This loss goes squarely on the shoulders of the secondary and offensive line. If that doesn’t get cleaned up they could be in for a long season.
Eric Smith is the Colts Beat Writer for Rant Sports. He’s covered the team the last four years and is recognized as an accredited member of the media by the Colts. Follow him on Twitter @ericsportsguru
