After Monday’s loss to the Ravens, the Colts are now 1-4 and staring at an uphill climb to potentially reach the postseason for a second straight year.
As Stephen Holder of TheAthletic.com pointed out, quarterback Carson Wentz reached career highs in passing yards with (402), passer rating (128.5), and yards per attempt (11.5) — but it wasn’t enough for a victory. Wentz, however, also lost a first-quarter fumble in the red zone, which clearly kept points off the board.
After the game, Wentz said the Colts “can’t ever relax” and have to do a better job of finishing. And he noted that it’s a game Indianapolis will learn from.
“Unfortunately, I have said that too many times this year — that there is good we can learn from,” Wentz said. “But, every week, it is a little better and a little better, and we have played some good teams. And so, for us, we cannot get caught up in the record or where we are at or how that looks. We just have to come out and try and go 1-0 every week and just keep learning from these little moments. Like, tonight, I mean this is a huge opportunity to show what we can do. And I thought we did a good job. Just not good enough.”
All teams have that week-to-week approach, but when losses start to pile up, it can take the steam out of a season. And at some point, whatever a team can learn must start translating into wins.
“At the end of the day for us, I know the outside world, that’s what they have to talk about. But internally, in this locker room, we can’t focus on that,” Wentz said. You know, know it’s a long season, and we are still in October — early October. And it’s a long season. So, we don’t get caught up in that. We get caught up in who’s next and what’s coming down the road here. And, yeah, I wish I didn’t have to keep saying we are going to learn from it and get better, but that’s the approach we are going to have to have every single week.”
Fortunately for the Colts, they play in the AFC South. Unless there’s a tie, one team between Indianapolis and Houston will get a second victory when they play each other in Week Six.