In their hopeful battle back to .500 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, it’s fair to say that Matt Ryan and the Indianapolis Colts ran into more than a few obstacles. (Some that were self-inflicted and historic.) Though, what happened in a bonkers late third-quarter sequence in the red zone might take the cake for getting in one’s own way.
While down 16-10, the Colts drove to the low red zone, but their drive stalled. They were forced to settle for a Chase McLaughlin 32-yard field goal. That is until an offsides penalty on Cameron Sutton gave Indianapolis an automatic first and a fresh set of downs:
Cameron Sutton's offsides penalty on 4th & 2… lol pic.twitter.com/VscpCISRlD
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) November 29, 2022
Oof, a brutal play for Pittsburgh but a very lucky break for the Colts. Surely, they’d maximize it, no? Unfortunately, Indy still couldn’t do anything offensively from goal to go. But this time, a Minkah Fitzpatrick defensive pass interference on third down gave Indy another fresh set of downs.
Surely, from the one-yard line, the Colts would take advantage this time. Right? Right??? Oh, goodness. No, no. You underestimate the capabilities of an incompetent offense being gifted every opportunity and still blowing it.
Matt Ryan and Jonathan Taylor — your table is ready.
A HUGE FUMBLE RECOVERY FOR THE STEELERS #NFL #NFLTwitter #DFS #Steelers #Colts
pic.twitter.com/hF1VAHFi3z— SportsBattle (@sportsbattleapp) November 29, 2022
I want to make clear that I think the fumble is much more on Taylor. For being one of the NFL’s premier running backs, he seems to do a poor job of actually securing the ball once he gets the carry in his arms.
Matt Ryan gets credited with the fumble but that's 100% on Jonathan Taylor. pic.twitter.com/Oc3jDA7Kqt
— Indy SportsOne (@IndySportsOne) November 29, 2022
That said, how on earth did Ryan not recover this fumble? He had it in his arms! He could’ve avoided complete disaster for the Colts in a tight game!
Alas.
Somehow, Matt Ryan didn't recover this fumble 😬
(🎥: @NFLBrasil) pic.twitter.com/vSWplwK7Fz
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 29, 2022
Wild, inexplicable sequences in the clutch like this clearly illustrate to me why the Colts are multiple games below .500. And after losing 24-17 to Pittsburgh, you have to think Indianapolis will be kicking themselves for a little while over what happened on this wild possession.
NFL fans couldn't believe the Colts blew this easy potential TD after the Steelers penalties
Disaster. The @Colts took points off the board after the penalty and a 1st and goal from the 1 turns into a loss fumble. If any sequence summed up the Colts season..that was it
— trey wingo (@wingoz) November 29, 2022
Colts fans after that fumble pic.twitter.com/yu9QBJ3lD6
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) November 29, 2022
What is happening?
Colts fumble….Steelers take over.
— Taylor Bisciotti (@TaylorBisciotti) November 29, 2022
That fumble just about summarizes the entire Colts season so far pic.twitter.com/vQckLaSli5
— Josh Ayen (@Josh_Ayen) November 29, 2022
The Steelers gifting the Colts 2 first downs with penalties after they get a stop only for the Colts to fumble it away is hilarious
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 29, 2022
Colts did all that to fumble at the 1?!?!?
— Falcons faithful. Hawks Apologist. Braves loyalist (@Ball2muzik) November 29, 2022
That fumble sums up the colts season LOL
— Byers (@Byerley21) November 29, 2022
Fumble on the 1 after all the second chances. Most colts drive ever
— Mark Hanson (@markhanson0995) November 29, 2022
What a dumb sequence of events … Colts ball at the 1 after DPI on Minkah Fitzpatrick, then a fumble by Indy. Matt Ryan trying to get the ball to Jonathan Taylor. Gross. The story of a season
— Ben Arthur (@benyarthur) November 29, 2022
