The Colts’ home opener opened the right way and unraveled fast.
Indianapolis marched down the field and scored on its first drive, a start that looked as clean and convincing as any team could ask for. But the missed extra point was only the first crack. From there, the game got away, and the Colts wound up short by the 19 points they would have needed to beat the Ravens.
That doesn’t mean the season is already slipping. It’s one loss, and that matters. Half the league starts 0-1 every year, and plenty of those teams finish somewhere very different once the schedule settles in.
Baltimore looked every bit like the kind of opponent that can make a good day turn ugly in a hurry. The Ravens have Super Bowl aspirations, and a backfield featuring Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry is always going to bring serious problems.
Sunday only reinforced that. The one break for Indianapolis was that Zay Flowers, who the piece describes as the second coming of Jerry Rice, did not play in the second half.
Without that, the damage could have been even worse.
The Colts’ issues were spread across the board. The offense stalled and gave the ball away too often, and the defense had no answer.
Still, there’s a reason not to sound the alarm just yet: this was always going to be a brutal stretch. The early schedule was known to be unforgiving, and it doesn’t ease up with a trip to Kansas City.
The good news for Indianapolis is that the Colts have done well against Patrick Mahomes. The bad news is that they’ll need to be a lot sharper to keep that trend going. They have room to clean up the mistakes and tighten the defense, and the Chiefs present a different kind of challenge than the Ravens did.
Bad games happen, even to teams with bigger goals. Championship contenders and eventual champions have rough afternoons.
The Colts just can’t let this become a pattern. For now, they’re 0-1, just like everyone else.
Panic can wait.
In Other News...
Colts Week 1 Loss Put Early Pressure On Three Key Names
The Colts 41-23 loss to Baltimore did more than open the season on a sour note. It also put an early spotlight on three players whose roles and expectations already carried plenty of weight, with rookie Justin Walley and Sauce Gardner drawing attention on the back end and Tyler Warren trying to live up to the buzz surrounding his arrival.
Walley had a difficult time dealing with Zay Flowers, while Gardner was not targeted often but still had to watch a defense give up points in bunches. Warren, meanwhile, made only a limited impact despite the preseason hype around him, leaving Indianapolis with some immediate questions about how quickly those key names can settle in after a rough Week 1 showing. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Have One Growing Concern After A Far More Encouraging Loss
The Colts came out of Week 1 with something they badly needed after a long offseason: signs that the roster can still be competitive if the pieces settle in quickly. Even in a loss, the tone around Indianapolis was far more encouraging than the flat, discouraging openers some teams around the AFC put on tape, and the early ranking of conference teams reflects that distinction. There were enough positive individual performances to suggest the Colts are not staring at a broken start, just a team that has some sorting out to do.
Still, the postgame read is not all comfort. The broader AFC evaluation points to one growing concern for Indianapolis, and it is the kind that can linger if it is not corrected fast enough, especially with adjustments coming on both sides of the ball. The encouraging part is that the Colts are not far from looking like a different team, but the opening week also made clear that their margin for error is already thin. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Fans Have A Real Reason To Worry About CJ Allen
CJ Allens Week 1 absence stood out before the Colts even got deep into the game, because the rookie linebacker was healthy enough to suit up but never took the field. Shane Steichen said Allen was still working back from camp injuries and that the team is easing him into football shape, which helps explain the decision but does little to calm a fan base already watching a thin linebacker room with some concern.
The timing is what makes it matter for Indianapolis. The Colts were already dealing with limited depth at the position, and the issues there showed up again on Sunday, making Allens unused status feel even more notable. For a rookie expected to be part of the solution, this is the kind of situation that can linger until he is fully ready to help, and the Colts do not have much margin to wait around at linebacker. [Read more 🡒]