Wins in the NFL are hard to come by. That’s a fact. Some wins are earned, like the Indianapolis Colts’ thrashing of the Miami Dolphins in their season opener last week.
Others require a little bit of luck. The Colts moved to 2-0 for the first time since 2009 after a dramatic 29-28 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. And let’s call it for what it is — the Colts got lucky.
Given how long it’s been since the Colts have started a season like this, they’ve entered uncharted territory. With two drastically different performances through two weeks, there’s no telling where the Colts are headed in 2025.
The game against Denver was almost completely opposite from the week before. After trading the lead back and forth a few times in the first half, Denver pulled out in front to an eight-point lead after a Bo Nix touchdown pass to tight end Adam Trautman.
Nix finished the first half with three passing touchdowns. The Colts secondary, playing without Charvarius Ward and Jaylon Jones, looked more out of sorts than a week ago. In fact, there was a stark difference between Lou Anarumo’s entire defense this week and a week ago.
Confusing right? The eye test may tell you the Dolphins, who have one of the league’s best wide receiver duos, a veteran quarterback and experience on the offensive line, would be a bigger challenge. Instead, the young, up-and-coming Broncos, led by a second-year quarterback, caused more of an issue.
The question of why comes with a more complex answer than it may seem. Yes, Ward and Jones being unavailable hurt. But there’s more to it.
Starting pass rusher Laiatu Latu was also unavailable. As a result, the pass rush suffered, looking reminiscent of the past couple years — overly reliant on DeForest Buckner to create pressure and an inability to get home. The Colts didn’t record a sack of Nix at all.
As a result, the back end suffered. Xavien Howard, who was playing in just his second game in two seasons and had to step in as the No. 1 perimeter cornerback due to the injuries, was clearly desperate to make plays. Instead of coming through, he cracked under the pressure, allowing completions on all five times he was targeted (including two touchdowns) and committed three penalties.
When the defensive front and back ends aren’t working in harmony, the whole operation suffers.
The lack of discipline leaked into the offense as well. As a team, the Colts were penalized 11 times, way up from four last week.
Regardless, the offense remained consistent, answering every Denver score with points of their own. Daniel Jones continued his impressive start after a redeeming start against Miami, throwing for over 315 yards. With two games still remaining in Week 2, Jones is second in the NFL in passing yards (588).
The Colts kept chipping away, but never reclaimed the lead until Spencer Shrader’s game-winning 45-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.
But Indy was lucky to even be in the position to kick a 45-yarder.
After a Jonathan Taylor one-yard run to the Denver 40-yard line, head coach Shane Steichen elected to let the clock run from 1:02 down to 17 seconds remaining before taking his first timeout. The play after the timeout saw a two-yard loss back to the 42, which meant Shrader would have to kick a 60-yard field goal to win the game.
For context, Shrader’s career long is only 48 yards. He had never attempted a kick from beyond 50 yards, much less 60.
Steichen tried defending his decision by saying he didn’t want to give Denver the ball back. Understandable. But the Broncos were out of timeouts, and the Colts had all three of theirs. Why not run a few more plays in the time wasted to make it an easier kick?
It really makes you wonder if Steichen truly believed Shrader could hit from that distance, or if he got too scared in his end-of-game management.
But regardless, play went on. With three ticks remaining on the clock, Shrader’s 60-yard attempt sailed wide right. Triple zeroes. The Colts had lost. Steichen’s decision, magnified.
But there was a flag. Broncos linebacker Dontrea Tillman was called for a personal foul leverage penalty, essentially using an opponent to give him an unfair advantage to attempt a blocked kick. It comes with a 15-yard penalty and an untimed down in this case, given the clock had run out.
This time, Shrader lined up from 45, and took advantage of the gift he and the Colts had been given.
A bizarre and sloppy game finished with a penalty. Fitting. And the Colts are undefeated through two weeks for the first time in 16 years. But it’s only two weeks, and there’s still so much uncertainty.
Which version of Anarumo’s defense will we get for the rest of the season? The high-flying, shutdown unit we saw in Week 1, or a more stagnant, undisciplined version like against Denver?
Will Jones be able to sustain his success at quarterback? Have we already seen the best of Shrader? Only time will allow for these questions to be answered; the Colts are still finding their identity.
While it’s tempting to throw the Colts into playoff discussions already, doing so this early feels premature.
We thought we had the answers. Now we need more before jumping to any conclusions.
