The Indianapolis Colts came back down to Earth in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a blistering, league-best 7-1 start to the season. Long story short, the Colts were simply outmatched over the course of four quarters, but is it enough to warrant hitting the panic button? The players don’t believe so. Quite frankly, some believe it’ll only strengthen them collectively.
Against the Steelers, the Colts looked little to nothing like themselves from the eight weeks prior. Not only was Indy’s historically efficient offense flipped on its head to the tune of six turnovers (two more than its season total entering Week 9), but its defense, all things considered, stood pat in limiting the Steelers’ offense. It was almost jarring to watch the two units showcase their Halloween costumes of switching bodies like it’s Freaky Friday.
Despite an uncharacteristic showing, some of the Colts’ top players and/or leaders explained how this loss won’t cause them to worry, but rather, gives them confidence in how this will build character to finish the season strong.
”It doesn’t feel good in the moment, but in the NFL, sometimes these things happen,” Colts running back Jonathan Taylor told ESPN’s Stephen Holder post-game in the locker room.“The great teams find a way to… overcome this.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating. It’s football. We know that we have to get better. It’s more exciting being able to go through games where we take a loss and we don’t play as well as we wanted to or as well as prepared for, but it’s more exciting to be able to go back and watch the film and figure things out before it’s too late,” Colts safety Camryn Bynum explained to local media post-game. “I think we’re at a good spot in the middle of the season, going into the second half of the season, this is a good time for us to get a loss. Nobody wants to lose, but we know going through these next weeks that the schedule is going to get a lot tougher, so being able to see things that we need to fix, it’s exciting to be able to know exactly how to get better.”
“Honestly, I think that the adversity is good,” longtime Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. explained. “I wouldn’t want to go into the postseason 17-0. There’s only been one team that’s ever done that and won [the Super Bowl].”
It’s not just a handful of guys who have this optimistic mindset. The entire team, from practice squad members to team captains, is seemingly on the same page.
“When you win, obviously, you’re correcting your mistakes. You try to be as hard on yourself as you possibly can, but it’s human nature to maybe let some things slip through the cracks,” Colts linebacker and team captain Zaire Franklin told Angela Moryan of WISH News post-game. “Sometimes losses allow you to really get into the nuts and bolts of how things are or aren’t working. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board. We lost to a good team today, gotta be better next weekend in Germany.”
“Learn from the film, get better, and come back to work a little pissed off,” longtime Colts guard and team captain Quenton Nelson explained to Jake Arthur of Roundtable Sports. “Losing is a part of life, and it makes you better as long as you learn from it and work hard.”
As alluded to, this collective mindset from the Colts is beyond encouraging. Not only are they confident in their ability to continue on as if said loss was nothing more than a blip, but they’re actively aware of their shortcomings, and furthermore, are prepared (and even optimistic!) to have gotten such a loss out of the way. It wasn’t the team’s first loss of the season, but one that came at a good time for a mid-season humbling. Here’s the type of second half of a season the Colts are preparing for, based on the strength of schedule.
Weeks 1-8: .387 (4th-easiest)
opponents: Dolphins, Broncos, Titans, Rams, Raiders, Cardinals, Chargers, Titans
Weeks 9-18: .554 (5th-toughest)
opponents: Steelers, Falcons, Chiefs, Texans, Jaguars, Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars, Texans
This isn’t to suggest that the rails will see an imminent fall-off, but rather, to showcase how impressive an optimistic, confident hive mind this Colts team possesses. Perhaps Indianapolis will begin taking a seat back and will no longer serve as the definitive number one seed in all of football, but the idea of the Colts bottoming out entirely seems far-fetched. This is a legitimate playoff team that has only lost to fellow playoff contenders. Time will tell if Indy can hold onto that number one spot, but as for the players, they’re putting no stake or concern in an uncharacteristic, six-turnover, one-score loss just yet.
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