INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (December 20, 2015) – Looking for a word to describe the Colts after Sunday’s 16-10 loss?
Stunned.
In the locker room, where the media usually asks the questions, it was the Colts asking questions of themselves.
“Why are we not finishing? What are we doing wrong?”postulates T.Y. Hilton. “There’s a lot of stuff going on, but we gotta fix something, or it looks like we’re gonna be home (for the playoffs).”
“We played well in all aspects,” safety Mike Adams said of the defense. “End of the day? We didn’t get it done. It’s frustrating. I’m sorry I’m rambling a little bit. I’m kind of flustered. I can’t believe we took this ‘L’ like this.”
Even in the first half when things appeared to be going well for the Colts (leading by 10 and facing Texans’ backup QB Brandon Weeden), things could have been going a whole lot better. Three times in the first 30 minutes, Indy started offensive drives in Houston territory. Once more, they started at their own 47. Even with that exceptional field position, just 10 points came as a result.
“There were opportunities to have more points than that,” said quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. “You know, ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’ kind of situations, but (we) didn’t do it.”
It’s not just the players bemoaning missed opportunities after Sunday’s loss. Head Coach Chuck Pagano mentioned missed opportunities five separate times in the opening statement of his postgame press conference. The two biggest of those missed opportunities? No doubt, they were the two turnovers on the Colts final two offensive possessions.
“December football is about running the ball and not turning it over,” said tight end Dwayne Allen. “Unfortunately, we turned it over too many times.”
“We kinda thought to win this game, no one had to do anything super hero,” said Hasselbeck. “We just had to do everything right. Play a clean game. Don’t shoot yourselves in the foot, and we sort of did.
“We didn’t do what we set out to do.”
