Rob Issa, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
Neither offense deserved much credit in Thursday night’s 12-9 overtime Colts victory in Denver.
Matt Ryan rallied Indianapolis down the stretch after multiple turnovers, though, as Russell Wilson made critical mistakes and the Broncos’ offense continued to sputter with him behind center.
In a matchup between two struggling teams, Indianapolis came from behind to beat the Denver Broncos in an overtime game that featured seven field goals and no touchdowns.
Ryan threw two interceptions and fumbled twice but led the Colts on two clutch drives late in the game. He was 9-for-11 for 86 yards on the scoring drive that set up overtime and the one that led to the go-ahead field goal.
“I love this guy in the fourth quarter,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “The look in his eyes, that short conversation that we have, that determination I just feel like we’re going to go down the field with a score. I really do. He’s going to make it work. Credit to Matt. You see all these things that have been said about him and what he does in the fourth quarter is impressive.”
Wilson, on the other hand, threw an interception into the end zone late in the fourth quarter when the Broncos had a chance to close out the game. In overtime, he didn’t see an open receiver for a winning touchdown pass and instead threw incomplete on fourth down.
The Broncos go for it on 4th-and-1, and Russell Wilson's pass is incomplete! The Colts win 12-9 in OT! 🏈 #TNF pic.twitter.com/1yHn6TmOpF
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 7, 2022
The Broncos fell to 2-3 while the Colts improved to 2-2-1.
“I have to be better. I have to play better,” Wilson said.
This team, this defense played (great). We had some key, good drives. We moved the ball. In the red zone, we just didn’t get to capitalize on some of them. There were some plays here and there that we can capitalize on. … Throwing two interceptions can’t happen. I let the team down. The good thing is that one thing I know about myself is I’m going to respond. I don’t know any other way. I always believe in myself. I always believe in this team. I believe in what we can do.”
Wilson is facing a ton of criticism for his performance in the first five games after the Broncos traded several assets to get him and gave him a $245 million contract. Rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett is also having a difficult transition after spending the previous three seasons as an offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
“You want to always try and get him into a rhythm and we weren’t able to get him in that and need to do a better job,” Hackett said.
And it starts with me, to get him in that rhythm with all of the wide receivers and tight ends. Again, there were a couple of opportunities. I think we had a couple of drops again, a couple of penalties. We keep continually hurting ourselves, and I think that’s the thing that’s frustrating. We need to address that as an offense, and we need to fix that because the performance by the defense was spectacular, and we’re wasting those great opportunities to be able to win a football game.
The Colts entered Week 5 as one of nine teams with a losing record. Last season, five teams that started 1-3 or 2-3 made the playoffs. The Colts took a major first step toward getting back in contention. They’re behind the Jaguars and Titans in the AFC South and both teams are 2-2 going into Sunday.
“We’re not happy about 2-2-1, but we’re right there,” Reich said. “That’s what we’ve been saying. It’s a better start than some of the other years that we’ve had here. We’ve got to get better. It’s nice to celebrate this on the long ride home. The tone in the locker room is great win, gritty win, there’s a closeness to this team that I think is going to work well for us as we continue to go. We just need to continue to find ways to get better.”