Colts’ poor performance in Atlanta hurts their…

admin | December 25, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Colts’ poor performance in Atlanta hurts their playoff chances

The Falcons totaled 406 yards of offense, more than tripling the Colts’ 203 yards.

The Colts suffered a 29-10 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16 due to a sluggish defensive effort and a poor offensive line performance.

Atlanta’s tailback trio rushed for 177 yards on 30 attempts, paced by youngster Bijan Robinson, who had his fifth game with 100-plus scrimmage yards. Robinson rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries and caught seven passes for 50 yards. The Falcons totaled 406 yards of offense, more than tripling the Colts’ 203 yards.

Gardner Minshew led the Colts on a 13-play drive, connecting with rookie tight end Will Mallory for a pair of completions to get inside Falcons territory. Following three straight carries by running back Jonathan Taylor, receiver Alec Pierce drew a pass interference penalty inside the end zone, giving the Colts first-and-goal at the one-yard line. Taylor needed three more carries to get beyond the goal line and give the Colts their lone lead of the game.

Atlanta (7-8) needed only five plays to respond after Robinson rushed left for 32 yards to go inside Colts territory. Midway through the first quarter, Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke connected with TE Kyle Pitts on a 24-yard corner pass to tie the score. Heinicke destroyed the Colts defense, completing 23 of 33 throws for 229 yards.

Minshew used the run-pass-option on consecutive plays on the Colts’ second drive, finding rookie receiver Josh Downs open in the flat to reach midfield. On successive plays, Falcons’ Zach Harrison and Arnold Ebiketie rushed off the edge to sack Minshew, forcing the Colts to punt and pin the Falcons back at their own three-yard line. On Sunday, the Falcons sacked Minshew six times while holding Taylor to 43 yards on 18 carries (2.38 yards per carry).

An unnecessary roughness call on linebacker E.J. Speed added 15 yards to the Falcons’ gain after Heinicke faked the handoff and dumped off a screen to Allgeier for a 19-yard gain. The Colts’ fundamental errors continued, as seen by an offsides penalty against Ameer. Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo redeemed himself after missing a 49-yard field goal with a 23-yard chip shot and then a 47-yarder to give the Falcons a 13-7 lead before halftime.

The Falcons fumbled the first snap of the second half, but attacked the ground by committee with furious chase. After three straight carries for Cordarrelle Patterson got the offense into Colts territory, Allgeier ended the first drive with a 31-yard touchdown run to make the score 20-7.

After leading the offense near midfield, Minshew took off for a career-long 24-yard run to drive into the red zone and set up kicker Matt Gay for a 33-yard range goal to cut the deficit in half. Midway through the fourth quarter, Minshew attempted to make magic, but his deep pass was intercepted at midfield by Falcons safety Jesse Bates. He completed 20 of 37 pass attempts for 201 yards and a quarterback rating of 58.5, which was in the bottom three of all starting quarterbacks through the first three Week 16 games.

Despite failing to gain ground on the rest of the field, the Colts remain in seventh place in the AFC postseason race, with Houston, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati all posting identical 8-7 records with two games remaining. On New Year’s Eve, Indianapolis (8-7) hosts Las Vegas (6-8) at Lucas Oil Stadium.