The Colts have been banged up, but they are fighting through it.
Injuries are part of the NFL game. They are unavoidable, but the teams that tend to be bitten by them the least normally find themselves with the best chance of making a postseason run. The Indianapolis Colts have been bitten by injuries this year and bitten hard. The list of players who have missed time is lengthy, yet the team has found ways to win. Compiling a 4-3 record has been impressive and is a testament to the coaches and players who have stepped up.
Think about the big names that have missed time this year.
Richardson
Buckner
Taylor
Moore II
Paye
Lewis
Blackmon
Brents
Downs
After falling short in the opener with a mostly healthy roster, missing these players was crucial in the other two losses. You can’t tell me having a full complement of players, especially of this caliber, wouldn’t have made a difference in the 6-point loss to the Packers and last second loss to the Jaguars. (Even against Green Bay, Brents, Downs, and Blackmon were out with Buckner leaving early.) Both losses were one score games. Any one of the players on this list could have made a play that put the game into the win column for the Colts.
With the exception of a few names, the Colts are starting to get healthy again. Buckner is back from IR, and Taylor is looking like he could suit up against Houston. The Colts will need all hands on deck this Sunday because while C.J. Stroud struggled last week, I don’t anticipate it happening again. The next stretch of games is difficult for the Colts, but they have put themselves in a position for those games to be meaningful. After an 0-2 start and with all the injuries, that wasn’t something that was guaranteed at this point in the schedule.
Injuries can break a team. Good teams go off the rails because they can’t sustain a rough patch with players out. While the depth on this roster isn’t perfect, it has been enough to fill in the gaps while players recover. Being 4-3 as we near the halfway point can be looked at two ways: either we can say the Colts should have won those two games and be 6-1, or we can be thankful things aren’t worse. The choice is yours. 4-3 isn’t perfect, but given the circumstances, it isn’t too shabby either.
