The Indianapolis Colts had one of the worst halves of football in recent football memory.
According to the 33rd Football Team, the Colts’ second-half EPA (expected points added) against the Denver Broncos of -1.37 was the second-worst performance in any half of football by any team since the year 2000.
What we saw from the Colts’ offense in the second-half of this must-win game was a collapse.
With a 13-7 lead and the ball following a Zaire Franklin interception, the Colts were on the cusp of going up 20-7 until Jonathan Taylor prematurely dropped the ball before crossing the goal line.
The ball would then roll through the end zone and out of bounds, resulting in a fumble and a touchback, taking a touchdown off the board and giving the Broncos the ball.
So instead of being up by 13, the Colts still led by six and never threatened to score again the rest of the game.
Two possessions later, Michael Pittman would fumble. Early in the fourth quarter, Shane Steichen dialed up a trick play in an effort to catch Denver off guard, but it instead ended with AD Mitchell throwing a pick-six.
The Colts’ final three possessions would then end on a turnover on downs, an Anthony Richardson interception, and a turnover on downs. In total, the Colts had eight second half possessions with four of them ending in a turnover, two ended on failed fourth down attempts, and two others were punts.
Overall, the run game did find some success with the combination of Taylor and Richardson totaling 153 yards on the ground at over 5.0 yards per attempt. However, as the Colts fell behind, they were forced to rely heavily on a passing game that had struggled for much of the game and in any instance where the run game didn’t have a positive play, the passing game wasn’t anywhere near good enough to overcome those long down-and-distance situations.
Even with some success on the ground, the Colts’ offense averaged just 4.3 yards per play. For some context around that figure, on the season, Chicago ranks last in that category in 2024, averaging 4.5 yards per play.
While the Colts’ defense did just about everything they could to keep Indianapolis in this game, there was no overcoming the collapse that was unfolding on the offensive side of the football.
When things get this bad, it’s on everyone. From the coaching to the play-calls, to the lack of execution on the field by the players.
