MINNEAPOLIS — DeForest Buckner sat in front of his locker, stunned to make sense of what had just happened.
The Colts defense lost a game they dominated.
Their foot was on Minnesota’s collective throat, and this time, the Indianapolis defense kept coming up with what the NFL calls big moves, sacks and turnovers that should have ended the game.
But the Vikings came one after another, and the Colts’ main game failed to break the line. When the final whistle sounded, Minnesota won 39-36 in overtime, obliterating the largest halftime 33-0 lead score in NFL history. In fact, greater than Buffalo’s famous comeback victory over Houston in 1993.
“I’m still in disbelief,” Buckner said.
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He is not alone.
Defensively, the Colts locker room has been searching for answers about how the lead disappeared. Some players thought Indianapolis had breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s something like that that happens when you get lazy sometimes,” safety Julian Blackmon said. “History just happened, and we’re on the wrong side.”
But there is no consensus on this point.
More Colts said the defense’s breakdown was down to execution, not effort. Buckner, linebacker Zaire Franklin, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and even interim head coach Jeff Saturday.
“We didn’t ignore (Wigins),” Saturday said. “We understand how explosive this offense is, how many points they put up.”
The Colts can agree on one thing.
Minnesota didn’t make any major adjustments, didn’t find something in the playbook that Indianapolis wasn’t ready to play.
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This development makes the cause of the collapse even more puzzling. Faced with the same play, the same performance, the Colts’ defense did the most work in building Indianapolis’ 33-0 halftime lead.
The Colts defense had flagged Kirk Cousins for three sacks by the time the halftime horn sounded, and when Franklin forced a fumble to stop the Vikings’ early promising drive, Blackmon picked Cousins Down the stretch, Indianapolis completed two attempts on fourth down to Minnesota’s 31-yard line and the Colts gave up just 82 yards.
Minnesota’s offense looks completely flimsy.
“At first, we just do what we want to do and do every game,” Franklin said. “And then it’s like, one game here, okay, let’s get better. The game, and the next thing you know, you’re in the fight.”
It’s worth noting that, this time around, the Colts’ defense didn’t follow the same old formula of crashing and capitulating. Indianapolis has relinquished its lead over the years because it couldn’t generate enough pass rush, and the Colts haven’t been able to turn the team around enough in this ugly 2022 season without Shaquille Leonard. team to maintain the lead.
But this time, those dramas continued.
After halftime, Indianapolis sacked Cousins more than the Colts did in the first half, four times. Rodney Thomas II’s bad pass at the 2-yard line ended Minnesota’s potential scoring opportunity. Even after the Vikings tied the game, the Colts were stopped in the first overtime at the end of the regular season and when Minnesota had a chance to end the game.
“We have to get them off the court in critical situations,” Buckner said. “Trying to create more turnovers. Some sacks, we’ve got to let them sack fumbles. Really game-changing game.”
Buckner was told the Colts finished the first half with seven sacks, three turnovers and just 82 yards of offense.
A statistical profile like this usually leads to dominance.
“It’s an incredible stat,” Buckner said. “Hearing this, I couldn’t believe it even more.”
Indianapolis instead gave up 436 yards and 39 scores after the break.
“I think it’s more about us,” Blackmon said. “We looked the same the whole game. Of course, they were trying to open up and they were down 33, so it was 7 on 7, but we had to play at the end of the day.”
Many reasons.
Indianapolis had to face 61 plays in the second half and overtime, both because the Colts couldn’t get off the field and because Indianapolis’ offense couldn’t put together anything longer than 3:29.
It’s not just the offense’s fault. For every big move the Colts defense made, they gave up another, losing 64 and 63 yards of progress in the second half. Indianapolis cornerbacks Stephen Gilmore and Isaiah Rodgers started the loss to Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborne, respectively, after dominating the first half; Jefferson and Osborne combined for 22 catches for 280 yards and two touchdowns.
“He put on some plays. I made some plays,” said Gilmore, who had seven tackles and three pass losses.
Indianapolis also committed six free throws for 78 yards in the second half.
Some of those calls were questionable, but the referees probably also failed Vikings cornerback Chandon Sullivan for two touchdowns that should have put Minnesota on track.
“A lot of times, I think the penalty goes the wrong way and you get it back,” Franklin said. “There were a couple of tough games, but honestly, I really felt like it was leveling off.”
But finding all the poor performances from that game, or the team’s 33-0 fourth-quarter meltdown in Dallas two weeks ago, or the wins the Colts defense gave up to Washington and Pittsburgh, is the easy part.
Determining the root cause is much more difficult.
The Colts defense has played a lot of great football this season — far more than a poor Indianapolis offense — and can’t find any concrete answers to their worst moments, including ones that will now have their name in the NFL The comeback of history is the wrong side of the ledger.
All that was left was that feeling, a feeling that Buckner had summed up.
“It was embarrassing,” Buckner said.
Embarrassing, and apparently unexplainable.
