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Colts defense looks broken in loss that spoiled heroic efforts of Joe Flacco, Alec Pierce

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Colts defense looks broken in loss that spoiled heroic efforts of Joe Flacco, Alec Pierce

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Indianapolis Colts defense had struggled all day, but one stop in a big moment could have erased all of the mistakes.

In a 34-34 game Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Jaguars with 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Colts had all their timeouts and all the momentum. A 65-yard touchdown pass from Colts quarterback Joe Flacco to wide receiver Alec Pierce had just shell-shocked the Jaguars and put their winless AFC South rivals on the ropes.

All the defense needed to do was land the haymaker. Get a stop and get the ball back into Flacco’s hands, and the Colts could leave Jacksonville with some rare achievements: a victory in Duval County and a three-game winning streak.

But they couldn’t do it. In fact, they couldn’t even force a third down until it was too late. QB Trevor Lawrence marched the Jaguars right down the field: 9-yard gain, 5-yard gain, 11-yard gain, 14-yard gain, and before you knew it, Jacksonville was in field-goal position. After three runs that forced the Colts to burn their timeouts, kicker Cam Little drilled a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left that lifted Jacksonville to a 37-34 victory.

The Colts’ gut-wrenching defeat marked their 10th straight road loss against the Jaguars. But beyond extending the Duval County curse, Sunday’s loss signified something more concerning: Indianapolis’ defense is broken.

“We know we’re better than the performance we put out there (Sunday) on all three levels,” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said.

But are they? Really?

The Colts just surrendered 37 points to the Jaguars, who hadn’t scored more than 20 points this season. Indianapolis also conceded 497 total yards and 8.7 yards per play, which is the Jags’ highest yards/play total since 1998. That year, some guy named Peyton Manning was in his rookie season with the Colts.

Jacksonville scored on 7 of its 12 possessions Sunday, including three touchdowns and a field goal in its last five possessions. The Jaguars scored both on long drives, and in flash, uncorking three plays of 60-plus yards Sunday: an 85-yard TD pass from Lawrence to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the second quarter that appeared to be the result of a coverage bust involving Colts safety Nick Cross and cornerback Dallis Flowers; a 61-yard pass from Lawrence to Christian Kirk early in the fourth quarter that set up another touchdown; and a 65-yard touchdown run by Tank Bigsby with just over five minutes left in the game.

On Bigsby’s run, which was the longest of his career and gave Jacksonville a 34-20 lead, he ran right past the outstretched arms of Cross, defensive end Laiatu Latu, linebacker E.J. Speed and Franklin, before running through the arms of diving safety Julian Blackmon, on the way to the end zone.

“(Our) tackling was atrocious (Sunday),” Franklin said. “We made that boy (Bigsby) look like something that I don’t necessarily believe he is, but he did (it).”

And that’s the point. The Colts defense — which entered Sunday Night Football ranked 31st in the NFL in percentage of opponent drives that end in punts (23.6%, league average is 35.5%), 32nd in forcing three-and-outs (18.2%, league average is 32.4%) and 32nd in yards yielded per drive (37.7, league average is 30) — seems to be allowing historical and career-high performances every week.

Bigsby had never recorded a 100-yard rushing game through his first 21 NFL contests. He exploded for 101 yards on just 13 attempts Sunday. Lawrence had lost nine straight starts, failing to throw for at least 300 yards in any of those games; he even failed to throw for at least 180 yards in his first three starts this year. On Sunday, the 2021 No. 1 pick completed 28-of-34 passes for a career-high 371 yards against the Colts and, save for an ill-advised pass in the third quarter that led to a Cross interception, had an overall brilliant day.

One big reason why: He was almost never under pressure. Indianapolis didn’t sack Lawrence. In fact, the Colts never even hit him. According to TruMedia, they pressured him one time in 34 dropbacks.

“You gotta get pressure on the quarterback. We know that,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “I have full faith that we’ll get that done moving forward.”

But should Steichen still have in defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s unit? They haven’t done much this season to warrant that “faith,” though Steichen insisted that his team has the players to rebound.

Maybe at one point that was true, but it may not be now. The Colts are too banged up. Starting defensive end Kwity Paye (quad) and starting defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (right high ankle sprain) were sidelined Sunday and have missed multiple games this year. The Colts were also missing starting cornerbacks Kenny Moore II (hip) and JuJu Brents (MCL), as well as starting defensive end Tyquan Lewis (elbow) on Sunday.

But that’s not an excuse for their poor performance. Sure it contributed, but plenty of teams across the NFL are dealing with significant injuries and put a better product on the field Sunday.

Also, consider what the Colts offense accomplished.

Indy was down three offensive starters to start Sunday’s contest — QB Anthony Richardson (right oblique), running back Jonathan Taylor (right ankle sprain) and center Ryan Kelly (neck) — and lost starting right guard Will Fries (right tibia) in the third quarter. Yet the offense, led by Flacco, still found a way to score 24 points in the fourth quarter to rally and tie the game.

A valiant effort though it was, the defense spoiled the fun. But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.

Flacco got things going for a Colts offense that sputtered for much of the game with an 18-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox just six seconds into the final frame before connecting with Pierce three times for 134 yards, marking the third 100-yard game of Pierce’s career.

Pierce’s first two receptions, a 24-yarder followed by a 46-yarder, set Trey Sermon up for a 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Jaguars’ lead to just seven points. Flacco then found Pierce again on the ensuing drive for the 65-yard catch-and-run that knotted the game with just under three minutes left.

“I think he’s hell of a player,” Flacco said of Pierce. “So, I was actually feeling bad like, ‘Man, we gotta get him involved in this game. … How can we do that?’ And then boom, he makes an awesome catch on the sidelines and then things just start rolling. So, a lot of credit to him to kind of keep his head in the game.”

Flacco finished 33-of-44 passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns, but it was all for naught. The 39-year-old said Sunday’s matchup was one when “you want the ball last,” which was his polite way of admitting his defense could not be trusted.

Franklin concurred in a largely silent locker room that was still contemplating how to swallow another embarrassing loss in Duval County.

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“Joe did a remarkable job of just keeping us in it. … A.P., man, I can’t say enough of about him and the job he’s doing this season,” Franklin said. “The defense, we gotta do our part. We ain’t do our part (Sunday). That’s the moral of the story.”

(Photo of Tank Bigsby: Mike Carlson / Getty Images)

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