The Indianapolis Colts seem to be allergic to making the playoffs.
With their 45-33 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth season in a row. In three of those seasons the Colts have suffered devastating, embarrassing losses in must-win games.
It has been such a bad run that Sunday’s loss to a previously 2-13 Giants team might not even be the worst of them all.
A quick rundown of the recent history for the Colts in these must-win games:
— In 2021 they entered Week 18 of the season simply needing to beat the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars to clinch a playoff berth. They ended up losing 26-11 (after falling behind 26-3) and missed the playoffs.
— In 2023 they entered Week 18 needing a win over the Houston Texans to make the playoffs and win the AFC South. They lost when running back Tyler Goodson dropped a wide open pass on a fourth-and-one that could have kept a potential game-winning drive going.
Then there was Sunday against the Giants.
The Colts still needed some help to get in the playoffs even with a win this time around, but a win was an absolute must to keep their chances alive. They not only failed to get it, they were humiliated.
The 2-13 Giants entered the game without having won a single game at home all season. They had lost 10 games in a row. They had not scored more than 22 points in any of those games, and only once scored more than 20 points. They were starting Drew Lock after he entered the season as their third-string quarterback.
You hate to say that any game in the NFL should be an assumed win, but this should have been as close to one as you could get for the Colts.
Yes, the Colts were also playing with a backup quarterback, as Joe Flacco started in place of the injured Anthony Richardson, but there is probably an argument to be made that Flacco is a better quarterback at this stage of both player’s careers. The Colts also scored 33 points.
Unfortunately for them, they allowed 45 points with Lock accounting for five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing) and posting a 155.3 passer rating in what might have been the best game of his career.
In terms of worst losses, the 2021 game in Jacksonville is still the most humiliating because that was a win-and-in game. The 2023 game in Houston was against a good team that was probably a coin-flip going in. The loss hurt, especially with the crucial drop, but there was no shame in the defeat. The most recent letdown probably sandwiches in the middle of the three.
Combined with the game in Denver two weeks ago that swung when running back Jonathan Taylor prematurely dropped the ball at the goal line celebrating a sure touchdown, the Colts are going to have a long offseason of “what ifs” ahead of them.
