Stampede Blue
The Indianapolis Colts came back down to Earth in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a blistering, league-best 7-1 start to the season. Long story short, the Colts were simply outmatched over the course of four quarters, but is it enough to warrant hitting the panic button? The players don’t believe so. Quite frankly, some believe it’ll only strengthen them collectively.
Against the Steelers, the Colts looked little to nothing like themselves from the eight weeks prior. Not only was Indy’s historically efficient offense flipped on its head to the tune of six turnovers (two more than its season total entering Week 9), but its defense, all things considered, stood pat in limiting the Steelers’ offense. It was almost jarring to watch the two units showcase their Halloween costumes of switching bodies like it’s Freaky Friday.
Despite an uncharacteristic showing, some of the Colts’ top players and/or leaders explained how this loss won’t cause them to worry, but rather, gives them confidence in how this will build character to finish the season strong.
“It doesn’t feel good in the moment, but in the NFL, sometimes these things happen,” Colts running back Jonathan Taylor told ESPN’s Stephen Holder post-game in the locker room.“The great teams find a way to… overcome this.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating. It’s football. We know that we have to get better. It’s more exciting being able to go through games where we take a loss and we don’t play as well as we wanted to or as well as prepared for, but it’s more exciting to be able to go back and watch the film and figure things out before it’s too late,” Colts safety Camryn Bynum explained to local media post-game. “I think we’re at a good spot in the middle of the season, going into the second half of the season, this is a good time for us to get a loss. Nobody wants to lose, but we know going through these next weeks that the schedule is going to get a lot tougher, so being able to see things that we need to fix, it’s exciting to be able to know exactly how to get better.”
“Honestly, I think that the adversity is good,” longtime Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. explained. “I wouldn’t want to go into the postseason 17-0. There’s only been one team that’s ever done that and won [the Super Bowl].”
It’s not just a handful of guys who have this optimistic mindset. The entire team, from practice squad members to team captains, is seemingly on the same page.
“When you win, obviously, you’re correcting your mistakes. You try to be as hard on yourself as you possibly can, but it’s human nature to maybe let some things slip through the cracks,” Colts linebacker and team captain Zaire Franklin told Angela Moryan of WISH News post-game. “Sometimes losses allow you to really get into the nuts and bolts of how things are or aren’t working. We’ve got to go...
