Colts’ Taylor after elimination: Raise the standard

Stephen Holder, ESPNDec 29, 2024, 07:01 PM ET

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Indianapolis Colts will miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season after what players characterized as an embarrassing loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

The 45-33 loss to a Giants team that entered the game with the NFL’s worst record should prompt a re-evaluation from all of the team’s players and staff, running back Jonathan Taylor said.

The Colts allowed the most points in any meeting with the Giants since 1950 and gave up a season-high point total. That left many Colts stunned and silent.

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But not Taylor.

“I think the standard has to be raised,” he said after a 125-yard rushing performance. “The playoffs have to be the standard. Those teams that get in year in and year out, that’s their standard. That’s the bottom floor. It’s like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to get in. And they know it’s tough but they say, ‘Hey, we’re going to fight, scratch and claw to make sure every year that is the standard that you uphold.’

“For us, 2020 was the last time we got in. We’ve got to get in. You’ve got to get in order to establish that standard. Like, ‘Listen, the Indianapolis Colts’ standard is the playoffs.'”

Indianapolis (7-9) entered the game with realistic playoff hopes after the Denver Broncos‘ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. The Colts needed a win against the Giants and a win over the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 and a bit of help elsewhere to clinch the AFC’s final playoff berth.

But Sunday’s loss meant they failed to check the most important box in their playoff scenarios. The Colts have not won a playoff game since 2018 and have not managed an AFC South championship since 2014, when they advanced to the conference championship game.

Sunday’s loss was the third time in four seasons the Colts had a must-win situation in the final weeks of a season and fell short. In 2021, the Colts inexplicably lost to the 2-win Jaguars in Week 18 when facing a win-and-in scenario.

Last season, the Colts played a home game against the Houston Texans in the season finale that would determine the division champion. Indianapolis lost that game, too.

Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts were eliminated from the playoffs chase with a loss to the Giants on Sunday. Getty Images

Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. went to the postseason as a rookie in 2020 and hasn’t been back since, offering a hard-learned lesson.

“It’s frustrating, especially when my first year we actually did make it and I just thought, ‘Hey, every year, we’re going to do this,'” he said. “And I quickly have been humbled. We’ve just got to do something different. I don’t know what that is.”

The Colts watched Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers put on a dominant performance, with seven catches for 171 yards and touchdowns of 31 and 59 yards. All told, the Giants put together six plays of 30 yards or longer.

Entering the game, New York had just nine such plays in its previous 15 contests.

“Embarrassing,” linebacker Zaire Franklin called it. “It’s disappointing. Just flat out beat. What we put out defensively is just beyond acceptable.”

Now, the Colts face questions about what comes next. They brought back their roster nearly entirely intact from last season’s 9-8 team, banking on a slew of veteran re-signings in hopes of taking the next step.

Instead, they’ll finish with fewer wins and, arguably, took a step back. What will all of it mean for the roster, coach Shane Steichen, quarterback Anthony Richardson and eighth-year general manager Chris Ballard?

“Every year, every team is different,” Taylor said. “Next week, that’ll be the last time that all 53 guys are in that locker room.

“That’s the reality of the business. But when you have a season and it doesn’t turn out how you want, it could be more changes than usual.”

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