A week ago after a dismal performance against the Houston Texans at home in the Dome, I pronounced the Colts officially D.O.A. and their season for all intents and purposes over. So this last Sunday the Big Blue journeyed up to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. It did not look very good for the Boys in Blue and White. Minnesota has one of the league’s most effective defenses and after missing most of the season with an injury, future Hall of Fame runningback Adrian Peterson was cleared to return to the starting lineup. It has been a hard year for Viking fans. Despite losing Peterson and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikes won their first five games and it seemed to be a lot to win the NFC and even go to the Super Bowl. The Vikings had traded their 2017 1st and 4th round draft picks to acquire quarterback Eagle quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford seemed to be thriving as offensive coordinator. Norv Turner’s offensive scheme and the defense was playing in a championship manner. Without Peterson the running game was ineffective but that did not seem to matter. They traveled to Philadelphia to meet the Eagles and got whipped. Then the Bears popped their noggins and then the Lions and it was panic button time. Norv Turner resigned and the Viking fan’s hopes of Super Bowl glory went down the toilet. The team stood at 7-6. Peterson said he would play to help them have a chance at the playoffs.
I had decided that if the Colts played as badly against Minnesota as they had against Houston, I would turn off the game and pursue some other more fruitful activities. So, just to spite me, the Horseshoe decided to play their best game of the season. They ran the ball. That’s right: Frank Gore had his second 100 yard game of the season. Red zone runningback Robert Turbin rushed for 2 touchdowns. The second 6 yard run saw him break at least five tackles to reach the end zone. Turbin has 38 carries for 131 yards but he has 6 touchdowns. He is the Colts’ short yardage specialist. He had 7 carries for 32 yards on the day. The icing on the cake was a 50 yard touchdown pass from Luck to Phillip Dorsett — which saw Dorsett all by himself and untouched. That seemed to demoralize the Vikes. After that they played just to get the game over with. Minnesota fans assaulted them with boos from the stands. The Colts offensive line started three rookies — Ryan Kelly, Joe Haeg, and La’Raven Clarke — on the right side and they held their own against the Vikings’ well-publicized front 4. Luck threw only 28 passes, but completed 21 for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensively the Colts played their most effective game. Pass rushing linebacker Eric Walden added 2 sacks to his resume, giving him 10 for the season. The Colts got to Bradford 6 times altogether and were in his face the whole game. As for Adrian Peterson, he found out just how bad the Vikings’ offensive line really is; he was held to 22 yards in 6 carries and fumbled to set up a Colts touchdown drive. He didn’t play in the second half and several camera closeups caught his look of anger and frustration. Veteran safety Mike Adams added an interception and free agent linebacker Edwin Jackson led the team with 7 tackles. So the Colts still have a mathematical shot at the playoffs, slim as it may be. For a while on Sunday it looked as though there might once again be a 3 way tie for the AFC South lead as both the Texans and Titans were losing. But Tennessee pulled off the upset to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Texans had to bench starting quarterback Brock Ostweiler and put in journeyman Tom Savage to rally and win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts travel to Oakland to play the Raiders. The Raiders have already clinched a playoff spot but wish to secure home field advantage during the playoffs so they won’t be slacking off. They have Derek Carr at quarterback and he is one of the NFL’s bright young guns. Khalif Mack is their linebacker/ defensive end hybrid and can disrupt an offense all by himself. They will be tough to beat. If the Colts can get their running game going, they just might have a chance, if not….well. They play Jacksonville at home for the last game of the season. I’m still thinking they will go 8-8 for the year. Yet another mediocre year.
Jim Irsay has indicated that he sees no major changes coming up in the team’s administration or coaching staff. This means the Ryan and Chuck comedy show will continue for at least another season. The key word for the Colts 2017 season will again be mediocrity.
snicewanger@yahoo.com