There’s the old sports saying that “good teams don’t beat themselves,” but that’s exactly what the Indianapolis Colts did in the second half during a 27-20 tough road loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The main culprit of the late West Coast afternoon loss was talented, but clearly still maturing 2nd-year wideout AD Mitchell—who had an outing that he’d really like to forget.
With 11:44 left in the early 3rd quarter, and the Colts down 10-13, Mitchell made a truly great catch on a 56-yard deep pass from Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones and an impressive run all the way to the goal line.
However, having seemingly learned nothing from Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor’s recent own goal line gaffe late last year in Denver, proceeded to reach the ball out with one hand to cross the goal line plane, but lost control well beforehand, fumbling the football out of the end zone before scoring.
By league rule, it’s a touchback and became the Rams football without the Colts putting any points on the board, much less a touchdown.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t Mitchell’s only mistake of the afternoon, as he also was called for an offensive holding call that nullified an impressive 53-yard ‘home run’ of a touchdown run by Taylor with 2:25 left in the 4th quarter. The Colts would end up punting, tied 20-20, and wouldn’t score in this one again.
Look, the Colts win and lose as a football team, period.
However, these mistakes by Mitchell, particularly regarding a clear lack of focus regarding what would’ve been a highlight reel deep touchdown reception and a game-altering play when it was all said and done, are inexcusable—especially since he was on the team last year, when Taylor had a similarly embarrassing feat.
Collectively, Mitchell cost the Colts -14 points, and they lost 27-20, so do the basic math. It’s hard to overcome that against any team in the NFL, let alone a really good Rams squad on the road here.
The Colts didn’t play particularly great in this one, but they did enough otherwise to potentially steal a tough road win late—and really should’ve, had Mitchell not performed two critical mishaps in the 2nd half.
Against an active Rams defense, this was easily Jones worst performance with the Colts to-date. He completed 24 of 33 pass attempts (72.7%) for 262 total passing yards, a touchdown pass, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 80.6. I didn’t necessarily think Jones was great in this one (or close to what he’s previously been so far in Indy), but he made enough plays to win the game—particularly if Mitchell’s deep touchdown catch would’ve stood (and by all means, it realistically should’ve).
Taylor had 17 carries for 76 total rushing yards on the ground, but again, a 53-yard touchdown run (and possibly game-winning play) was wiped clean off the board.
Mitchell actually led the Colts with 96 receiving yards, but will be shaking his head for a while after this one, wondering what could’ve been for both himself and his teammates.
Rookie tight end Tyler Warren continues to impress with 5 receptions for 70 total receiving yards, as well as a ‘full back dive’ up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown run early in the 2nd quarter. Michael Pittman Jr. had a touchdown reception of his own in the beginning of the 4th quarter to go along with his 5 receptions for 41 total receiving yards.
Colts safety Nick cross led the Indianapolis defense with 14 tackles (6 solo) and also had a 0.5 sack. Veteran defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was also active with 8 tackles (4 solo), 2 tackles for loss, and a QB hit.
Each of cornerback Mekhi Blackmon and edge Laiatu Latu also chipped in a sack (as well as rotational defensive tackle Ade Adebawore having the other half of that 0.5 sack from Cross).
Brand new Colts veteran slot cornerback Mike Hilton had a huge forced fumble on Rams running back Kyren Williams early in the 4th quarter, blowing up the L.A. backfield. Indianapolis recovered, and it led to a successful field goal attempt.
The Colts defense did surrender 462 total yards to the high-powered Rams offense, so there’s clearly some work to do, especially at CB2, whoever’s playing opposite Charvarius Ward outside, as well as generating a more consistent pass rush collectively.
New Colts kicker Spencer Shrader was a perfect 2 for 2 on field goal attempts—including a converted long of 52 yards. Indy punter Rigoberto Sanchez had his most intensive afternoon so far this season, punting the football four times for an average of 52.3 yards per punt.
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