Colts 2016 season in review: Week eight loss to the Chiefs

As part of our look back at the 2016 season for the Indianapolis Colts, we’re taking a look at each game the team played this season. We know that won’t be the most fun experience for Colts fans, but we’re taking a look back at each game within the context of the entire season. Today we continue the series with the week eight loss to the Chiefs:

What Happened:

The Colts looked to get to .500 on the season with a victory at home over the Chiefs, but instead got their butts kicked. Kansas City jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and while Andrew Luck would hit Frank Gore for a touchdown to cut into the lead, the Chiefs would add another score right before halftime to enter the break up 17-7. They added to that lead in the third quarter to make it 24-7, but Luck hit Donte Moncrief for a score to stop the bleeding and draw within ten points (24-14). In the fourth quarter, however, the Chiefs added two field goals while the Colts were unable to score, losing 30-14. It was a miserable all-around game for the Colts, without a doubt. The offense racked up just 277 total yards, which would wind up being their second-lowest output of the season (behind only the Broncos game). Their 18 first downs would tie a season low, while they converted just 4-of-13 third down opportunities, committed two turnovers, and allowed six sacks. The defense gave up 422 yards (which would wind up as the fifth-most they allowed in a game this year) despite the fact that Chiefs backup quarterback Nick Foles played most of the game, and not even the special teams units were that good either (the coverage units were bad, especially when they failed to down a Pat McAfee punt inside the 20 yard line). It was just an all-around bad loss.

What We Said at the Time:

The bottom line is this: the Colts aren’t a good team. We’ve known that for weeks, but today the Colts finally put it all together for a 60-minute game. It was an all-around pathetic performance by this team, but we’ve come to expect that. The offense struggled more than expected, but the fact that the Colts looked bad should surprise no one. Basically, here’s the deal: The Colts are a bad football team, but today’s result is what you get when Andrew Luck also struggles. But hey, maybe they’ll just stick to the process, because that’s obviously working so well for them. They’re now 3-5 on the year and going nowhere fast.

What We’re Saying Now:

If those recaps quoted above seem repetitive throughout this series (“the Colts are a bad football team”), it’s because they are. And it’s because the Colts’ season was. The Colts lost their first two games of the season, but after that alternated wins and losses nearly the entire season, with the only exception being a two-game win streak mid-year. The Colts were consistently inconsistent - maddeningly so. And it all added up to the honest realization that they just weren’t a good football team. Chuck Pagano said after the loss to the Chiefs that the Colts took a “step back,” which though true was indicative of their entire season. Looking back on this game, it actually was far from their most impactful or worst loss of the season, but it was one of the worst all-around games they put together all year. The Chiefs wound up being one of the best teams the Colts faced in 2016 and I don’t think many people were surprised that the Colts lost, but they just didn’t look good all game in doing so. The hope for the Colts now is that, with former Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard now running the show as GM, they will turn into a team that more resembles the Chiefs rather than one that gets its butt kicked by the Chiefs. But it won’t happen overnight, as the 2016 season over and over again reminded us that the Colts still have a lot of work to do.