GREEN BAY, Wis. — Where to begin?
Let's start here. The Indianapolis Colts made the trip up to Lambeau Field for the first time since 2016 for Week 2. Fresh off an entertaining loss to the Houston Texans in Week 1, Indy was attempting to bounce back while showing improvement defensively stopping the run and offensively sustaining drives.
Neither was done on Sunday.
The Packers came into the game with no Jordan Love, while the Colts were without JuJu Brents, Julian Blackmon and Josh Downs. DeForest Buckner and Kwity Paye were questionable but both were active for this game.
It started bad in Green Bay, and it continued that way throughout this ball game. Remember, the Packers were without starting quarterback Jordan Love in this game. Knowing they were shorthanded, the Packers turned to their running game.
This Colts run defense picked up right where it left off in Week 1 against Houston. Green Bay racked up 135 rushing yards in the first quarter alone on Sunday—a far cry from the improvement fans were expecting. The Packers took a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter on Malik Willis's first completion of the game. Dontayvion Wicks caught the 14-yard touchdown to put the Colts on their heels early.
Following that score, the Colts worked their way down the field. However, the drive stalled when Anthony Richardson overthrew Alec Pierce down the middle of the field for his first interception of the game.
“The first pick, that was just me," Richardson said postgame. "I saw AP (Alec Pierce) coming across the field, and I released it a little too high, and it sailed to the safety."
The Packers went into the halftime break up 10-0 on the Colts, but the lead felt even more insurmountable than it actually was. Green Bay put up 237 rushing yards in the first half. For context, the Colts gave up 212 rushing yards to the Texans in Week 1—which is not good. Green Bay eclipsed that number in just one half of football. Additionally, Green Bay notched 14 first downs in that first half. The Colts, in contrast, only ran 15 total offensive plays.
"We need to start fast, bottom line, and we didn’t," a perplexed Shane Steichen said postgame. "Again, it starts with myself. We need to come out there and hit the ground running. We need to get it fixed. We are going to get it fixed going forward.”
From missed tackles to turnovers to missed field goals, it was a struggle for the Colts to find their footing throughout the game on Sunday. Anthony Richardson did find Alec Pierce on a late touchdown pass to trim the deficit to just six, but by the time the Colts got the ball back in the fourth quarter, the game was well in hand.
Additionally, DeForest Buckner left the game in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury. He was carted off the field and did not return to action.
Matt Gay missed a crucial 50-yard field goal down the stretch, Richardson added two more interceptions to his tally, Jonathan Taylor dropped a critical fourth down pass—all resulting in a regrettable and nauseating performance by the Colts on Sunday.
"It is crazy because the biggest thing is that we want to play complementary football right and get some momentum because if the defense gets a stop, then it is like ‘come on offense, now it is our turn to go score.’ We didn’t get the job done today, bottom line. We didn’t do it, and we have to get that done moving forward, without a doubt," Steichen said.
The lone bright spot of the day was Jonathan Taylor finishing with 103 rushing yards on just 12 carries for an average of over eight yards per carry. Anthony Richardson finished the day 17-34 for 204 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
“We just started out slow. It’s frustrating when you have a decent week of practice. You execute a certain way in practice. You game plan a certain way and then you get to the game and some things are switched up and you adjust a little too late," Richardson explained. "We started off slow as a group, especially as an offense. We definitely can’t do that. We know we’re better than that. It just hurts losing, bro. Nobody wants to lose. I know we’ve got 15 more, but man. Losing the first two definitely hurt. We’ve got a lot to look forward to, but we’ve got a lot to correct in these upcoming weeks.”
The Packers finished the game with 261 yards rushing after only throwing the ball 14 times. In the first two weeks of the NFL season, the Colts have given up 473 yards rushing.
"We have to get it fixed. It starts with myself. I am the head coach, and we have to get in our meeting room on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and get it fixed. That is the bottom line," Steichen said. "We have the guys in that locker room to do it. I have no doubt about that. I am not going to lose any faith in that. We just have to get it fixed.”
"I think teams are just doing a good job getting in the two-back and putting us in difficult situations," Zaire Franklin said, "I think we just have to understand what those situations are and just be better. Stopping the run is a mentality. It's an energy. It's not a scheme or anything like that. We just have to be better."
Now 0-2, the Colts are nearly in a must-win situation next week. Only two of the past 21 teams that have began the season 0-2 have made the postseason.
"We have to do a great job of starting fast, and we all have to look ourselves in the mirror. We really do," Steichen concluded. "I know it is early. I am not in panic mode by any means. We have so much football left, but we have to do a hell of a job preparing this week for Chicago at home.”
“Honestly, we’re not worried," Richardson said. "We know that we’re a way better football team than we’re presenting right now. We’ve got a lot to look forward to. We’ve got 15 more guaranteed, regardless of whether we can get more, but we’ve just got to correct the little things that we’re messing up on right now and just show that we’re a great team. Just execute the way that we play and just do it.”
"Adversity happens. Adversity is going to come regardless, and unfortunately for us, it's right off the bat," Franklin said. "I love this team. I know we have the pieces. I think we did some growing up today. Unfortunately, it was after a loss."
The Colts play host to the Chicago Bears next week at Lucas Oil Stadium at 1 p.m. EST.