The Colts fell the Denver Broncos at home tonight, by a score of 25-13. After the loss, the Colts drop to 3-11, below the Broncos. The Colts blew yet another halftime lead; they lead 10-7 at half.Although the Colts’ draft position is helped, the Colts missed an opportunity to instill some much needed confidence in the team. After embarrassing the Colts twice last season, Brock Osweiler did it again tonight. After tonight, the Colts have still never defeated Osweiler. He came in for Trevor Siemian, who suffered an injury in the first, and ignited the offense. Like Jacoby Brissett did earlier, he scrambled in for an 18 yard rush. In the second half, the Broncos defense stifled Jacoby Brissett. C.J. Anderson wore down the Colts with an excellent 158 yard performance. Osweiler ended the night with 194 yards and two touchdowns, with an incredible 147.7 passer rating.
The Colts unfortunately caught the injury bug today, as they have all season. Backup tight end Brandon Williams suffered a scary head injury after a helmet to helmet collision. The medical team took Williams off on a stretcher to the hospital. Fortunately, it was not a neck injury, and he was able to move his limbs. Given his injury history, it is unsure if Williams will ever be the same. Prayers go out to Brandon Williams for a speedy recovery. With Darrell Daniels already out, players such as the 6’7 monster, Ross Travis. got some snaps. Travis, the former Chief, made a big 20 yard reception for his first career catch. Travis ended up with two catches for 33 yards.
Frank Gore suffered a knee injury in the first half, but returned in the second. Given Gore’s unprecedented age and his 36 carries last week in the snow, some wear and tear on his body is expected. The Colts need to be very careful with Gore in the coming weeks. After Gore, T.Y Hilton had his hand injured in the first, but came back into the game quickly. Following the halftime break, inside linebacker Jon Bostic went down with a knee injury. Linebacker Jeremiah George suffered a neck injury, and did not return to the game. Tackle Denzelle Good went down with an injury in the third. He played very well against Von Miller in the first half.
The matchup of the night came between the Colts’ cornerbacks and the Broncos’ wide receivers. Rookie Quincy Wilson matched up with the physical Demaryius Thomas, and Kenny Moore matched up with the shifty Emmanuel Sanders. In the absence of Nate Hairston who had a concussion in practice, Moore played very well. He intercepted a pass in the first off of an arid Trevor Siemian throw, and did a decent job blanketing Sanders. Facing a very tough matchup, Wilson held Thomas to a decent statline. He did an excellent job guarding the sticks and playing the ball in the air, but gave Thomas too many easy gains. Thomas finished the game with 69 yards on five catches, and Sanders finished with 68 yards on seven catches. D.J. White, who filled in for the injured Nate Hairson, was burned for a 22 yard score by Cody Latimer. Latimer had an incredible night, finishing with 60 yards on three catches and a touchdown.
Colts’ Game Ball: Matthias Farley
This was a tough one to give out, since nobody played particularly well. I almost went with right tackle Denzelle Good, who held Von Miller in check in the first half. But, Matthias Farley continued to be the Colts’ most consistent defender. Farley ended with 10 tackles. Farley covered well apart from a long touchdown against Jeff Heuerman, and played well in the run game.
With this loss, the Colts are one step closer to a top three pick in the upcoming NFL draft, which will benefit them greatly. The Colts head to Baltimore next week to take on the Ravens, who are fighting for a playoff spot in the tightly contested AFC.
Ben Pfeifer is the Managing Editor of the Colts, and a national writer. Want to continue the discussion? Contact Ben Pfeifer on Twitter @Ben_Pfeifer_ and @FPC_Colts.