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It hasn't been the best of starts for the Colts.
After the Cowboys went 80-yards in 15-plays and took 8:24 off the clock in the first quarter, they took a 7-0 lead over the Colts (thanks in part due to a stupid tangent penalty on Jerrell Freeman).
Then the Colts ran the ball on first down for a loss of five. And then the Colts ran the ball on second down for a gain of one. And then the Colts ran the ball on third down for a gain of three. The end result? A fourth down and eleven yards to go after showing absolutely no aggressiveness on their opening possession. They didn't even let Andrew Luck throw once, not even after a five yard loss on a first-down run play. But on fourth down, they were willing to throw it for some reason.
Punter Pat McAfee ran a fake punt and threw the football, and he actually made a perfect pass… but it was dropped by safety (and special teams gunner) Dewey McDonald. Flat out dropped.
The play gave the Cowboys a short field, which they used to score a touchdown. And then after another failed Colts' drive, the Cowboys scored again. It's currently 21-0 Cowboys as I write this, and it doesn't look like it will be getting much better. The Colts, at this point, look like they've given up.
A lot of fans will say the fake punt was a great call because it "should have worked." And arguing about whether or not it was the right call is really beside the point. The question is why would the Colts allow Pat McAfee to throw a pass before Andrew Luck? Why not trust the guy who's closing in on 5,000 yards passing and 40 touchdowns if you're going to be aggressive? Whether or not the play worked or didn't work or should have worked or whatever - that doesn't matter. What matters is that the Colts were willing to put the ball into Pat McAfee's hands to throw the ball before Andrew Luck. And because of that, this start shouldn't surprise anyone.
Of course, things might look a little better if Dewey McDonald hadn't dropped the pass. And fans have already taken notice.
Someone edited his Wiki page after Colts S Dewey McDonald dropped that fake-punt pass: pic.twitter.com/3pEvb4s4Kd
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) December 21, 2014
Luckily for Dewey McDonald, you could point to almost every area of the Colts so far today as to why they're struggling. The drop on the fake punt just gets more attention. But so far today, the Colts absolutely stink. And that's as nice as I could possibly put it.