The first half of today’s game was one to forget for the Indianapolis Colts, as they trail the Denver Broncos 13-6 at the break.
In a bit of a surprising reversal, the offense has actually been the worst unit for the team today. The offense has recorded just 72 total yards on 26 plays in the first half, an average of just 2.8 yards per play. The Colts also only converted two of their nine third down attempts (27%) and failed to score a touchdown, instead relying upon two Adam Vinatieri field goals (from 48 and 52 yards out) for their points. Andrew Luck was off in the first half, completing just five of 15 passes for 53 yards in a miserable outing so far, and he hasn’t had much time to throw either as the offensive line has struggled against the Broncos’ front seven.
The Colts defense gave up quite a few plays and quite a few yards, but they managed to hold the Broncos to just 13 points and only one touchdown in the first half - which considering the injuries isn’t a bad outing. Darius Butler had a key interception that should have been a pick-six... but Butler fell down and grabbed his hamstring, an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the game.
All things considered, the Colts actually should be very grateful to be down only one score at halftime. And the good news is that they get the ball to start the second half, so they could potentially make this a tie game very quickly. But that would require getting their offense going, which we didn’t see in the first half. We know that Luck is capable of catching fire at any point, but the offense can’t just wait and hope the defense keeps holding Denver to field goals. If the Colts are going to win this game, they’ll need Andrew Luck to play well. We know he’s absolutely capable of that, but we haven’t seen him do so yet today.