2014 Colts - Week 11

5:30PM EST - November 16th, 2014
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN

New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
Nov 16, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
New England Patriots (7-3, 3-2 Away)	0	3	0	7	10
Indianapolis Colts (5-5, 2-3 Home)	14	7	7	0	28

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 319YDS, 3TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 21CAR, 120YDS, TD
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 8REC, 140YDS, TD

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts returned home this week to face off against a hated rival, the New England Patriots. The Colts have suffered under the Patriots recently, even back to the Manning years, but with Tom Brady fading this would be the Colts chance at revenge.

Most of the talk during the lead up to this game would be how Bill Belichick would handle the Colts' Dwayne Allen. Allen has been Andrew Luck's best receiver lately, cushioning the loss of TY Hilton, and few teams have had a way to slow him down with Reggie Wayne and Da'Rick Rogers to worry about.

Indianapolis would use two quick drives (5 plays and 9 plays) to jump out to a 14-0 lead, TD passes to Alexander and Da'Rick Rogers would put Brady in a tough position. The Colts would take it to New England again, looking to make it 21-0, but Darrelle Revis would be all over a deep pass to Wayne and pick it off. The Patriots would take it down to the 7, but the Colts defense would come up big and they would have to settle for a Stephen Gostkowski FG to get on the board. Things only got worse for New England when Allen would catch a 31 yard TD pass to head into the half down 21-3.

Brady was under duress all game.

The Patriots didn't have much fight in them during the second half as the Colts ground them down with their running game. Despite trading away Gosder Cherilus the Colts running game has remained healthy under OC Pep Hamilton. The Colts basically put the game away with a short Richardson TD run, the only score of the third quarter.

Richardson makes his way in for a TD.

Brady would finally get a TD pass with a 30 yard gain on 4th & 3 in the fourth, but the game was essentially over at that point. Vontae Davis would pick off Brady with under 2:00 to play and close out the game. Indianapolis' defense should be struggling without pass rusher Robert Mathis, but the Colts managed a whopping 7 sacks today from six different players. They are still dependent on their offense, but if their defense can hold the playoffs aren't out of reach just yet.

2014 Colts - Week 9

8:30PM EST - November 3rd, 2014
MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ

Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants
Nov 3, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indianapolis Colts (4-5, 3-2 Away)	3	7	7	10	27
New York Giants (3-5, 2-2 Home)	0	0	0	7	7

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 248YDS, 2TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 18CAR, 104YDS, TD
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 10REC, 97YDS, TD

EAST RUTHERFORD - Monday Night Football usually isn't the best place to start a week after trading a number of players and firing your General Manager. The Colts couldn't have picked a worse week to be on national television, but with a BYE looming in Week 10 they can lick their wounds if necessary.

Luckily for Indianapolis, a trip to play the Giants wasn't going to test them much. The Giants were just bad all game, and the way they played it's a surprise they came into today with three wins. The Colts didn't light up the scoreboard, but their defense managed to get turnovers and make it easy for Andrew Luck and the offense.

The first half was all Indianapolis, an Adam Vinatieri FG and a Dwayne Allen TD catch would send the Colts into the locker room up 10-0. Prince Amukamara would pick off Luck on a deep pass to Da'Rick Rogers, but that was the best New York could do all game.

The Giants had no answer for Allen.

The Colts added a 10 yard TD run by Trent Richardson in the waning seconds of the third quarter before the Giants came to life for their best drive of the game. The Giants only scoring drive, spanning the third and fourth quarter, lasted 17 plays for 80 yards ending in a 14 yard TD pass to Mario Manningham.

Another FG and a Danario Alexander TD catch put the Colts up 27-7 for good, and the Giants ended a humiliating Monday Night Football game with another loss. The Colts, looking good despite the recent off-field trauma, get to head into the BYE with some decent momentum.

2014 Colts - GM Grigson Fired, Veterans Traded

INDIANAPOLIS - It wasn't all that unexpected, especially after a four game losing streak, but it looks like the blame for 2014 has fallen on General Manager Ryan Grigson. Grigson was fired today following a loss to Pittsburgh, most of his staff will remain but the assumption is that there will be a massive cleanout after the season.

MSMG released a statement that came shortly after the news leaked via Twitter and other media sources through Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Grigson's GM tenure ended after only two years.

Ownership did not specifically cite a failure to build a balanced roster, but most of Grigson's recent moves have left the team in trouble on defense and the offensive line. The trade for Richardson, which cost them a 2013 1st round pick, was a particularly costly mistake.

If the Grigson firing wasn't a big enough surprise, the team announced a flurry of trades and free agent signings before the Week 9 trade deadline. OLB Robert Mathis was traded to the Steelers for a 2016 2nd round pick, OT Gosder Cherilus was sent to the Jets for a 4th and 7th round pick, and finally WR Hakeem Nicks was sent to the Raiders for a 3rd rounder.

In order to fill the roster gaps WR Jacoby Ford, DE Adam Carriker, and OT Max Starks were all signed to 1-year contracts. It's hard to tell if the team will crater after trading away so many starters, but they will have the Week 10 BYE to regroup.

2014 Colts - Week 8

4:25PM EST - October 26th, 2014
Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA

Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
Oct 26, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indianapolis Colts (3-5, 2-2 Away)	7	17	0	7	31
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4, 2-2 Home)	3	7	3	21	34

Top Performers

Passing : B. Roethlisberger (PIT) - 358YDS, 4TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 22CAR, 82YDS
Receiving : A. Brown (PIT) - 7REC, 196YDS, 2TD

PITTSBURGH - The Colts took the field tonight under some of the worst weather conditions, heavy rain and driving winds. The rain started before the game and did not let up at any point, the wind was a steady 11MPH that didn't make things easier, but the muddy field would make everything an adventure.

The Colts passing defense has been a serious issue once again this year, and the Steelers passing attack wouldn't allow them much room for improvement. Luckily for Coach Pagano, things would go their way through the first half and victory looked assured.

Through the start of the second quarter Andrew Luck had two TD passes, one to Da'Rick Rogers (19) and one to Reggie Wayne (10), to hold a 14-3 lead over a Shaun Suisham FG. The Colts defense would completely shut down the Pittsburgh running game, and a 21-3 lead was negated on a Wayne clipping call after a 23 yard TD pass to Dwayne Allen was called back and ended up as a 35 yard Adam Vinatieri FG.

With the half nearing a close Rogers burned Ike Taylor for a back-breaking 63 yard TD and a 24-3 lead. Ben Roethlisberger gave the Steelers' fans hope with a 57 yard bomb to Antonio Brown as the half expired. Down 24-10 the Steelers were being routed, managing only 14 rushing yards and 134 yard of offense compared to the Colts 313.

Rogers has stepped up in the absence of Hilton and Nicks.

Things didn't get much better in the 3rd quarter, even after Rogers was stripped of the ball (ruled an INT) to put Pittsburgh on the Indianapolis 25 they allowed three straight sacks to knock them out of FG range. The Steelers' punt was perfect, pinning Luck and the Colts offense on the 1. A short drive and a punt allowed the Steelers to kick a FG before the end of the quarter and make it 24-13.

With the game apparently in hand, the Colts defense went into some serious lapses and the final quarter became a waking nightmare. Roethlisberger took them down and found Orson Charles for an 11 yard TD, but they failed on a 2-PT conversion. Luck answered right back with a 4 yard strike to Donte Moncrief to go up 31-19, but the defense just couldn't hold. Pittsburgh used a 4 play 81 yard drive to score on a pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey, and the Steelers defense came up big time to force a punt. With just under 2:00 left the Steelers marched back down and used a defensive lapse to get Brown in the endzone again on a 24 yard TD. This time they converted the 2-PT attempt and found themselves up 34-31.

Antonio Brown has his way with the Colts secondary.

The Colts had less than 20 seconds to score, and couldn't get close enough for a Vinatieri FG. A truly disappointing loss after victory seemed assured. Luck and Pagano were visibly frustrated after the game, and with a Week 9 BYE on the schedule there was some concern that Pagano might not be around on Monday.

2014 Colts - Week 7

1:00PM EST - October 19th, 2014
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts
Oct 19, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Cincinnati Bengals (2-4, 1-2 Away)	0	7	3	10	20
Indianapolis Colts (3-4, 1-3 Home)	3	7	0	7	17

Top Performers

Passing : A. Dalton (CIN) - 224YDS, 2TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 18CAR, 99YDS
Receiving : M. Sanu (CIN) - 4REC, 67YDS

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts had a few extra days to rest after a disappointing loss last week. They would need every day they could get with TY Hilton and Hakeem Nicks out for 5 weeks. The Colts cut HB Dan Herron this week to make room on the roster for free agent WR Danario Alexander, hopefully the won't have any other serious injuries.

Facing a struggling Bengals team looked like what the Indianapolis offense needed to right the ship, but this game was a total mess for both teams. Turnovers and officiating errors would be the story of the day, but in the end the Colts just didn't play well enough to win.

A Vinatieri FG was the only score of the 1st quarter, but the drama of the 2nd quarter more than made up for it. The Bengals scored with a 15 yard TD pass to Tyler Eifert after a 12 play 80 yard drive. The Colts came right back and on 4th & goal from the 5 Alexander caught a TD on a short pass, but the officials called him out on the 1 yard line. Coach Chuck Pagano went ballistic, and after some shouting threw a challenge flag. Despite crossing the plane of the endzone, the officials refused to reverse the call and the Bengals got the ball. The Colts managed to hold them at th 5 and Andrew Luck came back on the next possession to find Alexander a second time for an 8 yard TD.

Officials failed to rule this a TD.

The second half would be just as dramatic, this is where the turnover game came into play. Jermain Gresham would open the 3rd quarter with a game ending injury, but Eifert was more of a headache for the Colts. A promising Bengals drive would end with a Bjoern Werner INT, but Luck would give it right back with an INT of his own. The Bengals would get down to the 1 but a false start penalty and a goal line stop would force them to settle for a FG.

Luck would find Reggie Wayne to open the 4th quarter on a 13 yard TD pass and a 17-10 lead. The Bengals would drive back down the field and use a 31 yard FG by Mike Nugent to close the gap on Indy. Luck would start a march down the field to put the game out of reach, but Ahmad Bradshaw missed a short pass that would find Terence Newman and give Cincy a chance to take the lead. A few plays later Andy Dalton would find Ryan Whalen for a 1 yard TD and take a 20-17 lead. Luck would throw a third INT in the final minute and doom the Colts to a second straight loss.

Wayne hauls one in for Indianapolis' final TD.

Many feel that GM Ryan Grigson would keep his job until the end of the season, but the roster he has constructed is starting to frustrate fans and ownership.

2014 Colts - Week 6

8:25PM EST - October 9th, 2014
NRG Stadium - Houston, TX

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
Oct 9, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indianapolis Colts (3-3, 2-1 Away)	0	7	0	3	10
Houston Texans (3-3, 2-1 Home)	0	7	0	10	17

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 371YDS, TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 22CAR, 88YDS
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 9REC, 89YDS TD

HOUSTON - The Colts would face their division rivals tonight, a Thursday Night game on the road is the bane of teams and fantasy players. The short week of preparation would show, and to make things worse Hakeem Nicks would be out 5 weeks with a broken jaw.

Things got worse for Indianapolis almost immediately as TY Hilton was carted off with a broken collarbone on the first offensive play. Andrew Luck would now have to play without his 2nd & 3rd WR option and depend on the Reggie Wayne / Dwayne Allen duo.

The two teams would struggle on offense, finishing with a scoreless opening quarter, but Luck would find Allen on a 5 yard TD pass to open the 2nd quarter 7-0. Case Keenum, starting in place of Ryan Fitzpatrick, would give the Texans hope with a 20 yard scramble down to the 5 yard line. Unfortunatley for Keenum he would be leveled by LaRon Landry and fumble the ball, the Colts' D'Qwell Jackson would recover the fumble.

Houston would get their revenge ont he exact same drive, as Luck would take the team down to the 8 looking to make it 14-0, but Allen would get muscled away from a short pass that would be caught by DJ Swearinger and taken back 92 yards for a TD. The teams would struggle to score from then on, with a mostly uneventful and scoreless 3rd quarter.

Luck was not on his game tonight.

Things would come alive in the 4th after Allen dropped a TD pass in the endzone to force a Vinatieri FG. Keenum would take advantage of a coverage breakdown and hit TE CJ Fiedorowicz for a 71 yard TD and a 14-10 lead. Luck would engineer one last drive, but the Texans would force a 4th & 2 with less than 1:00 left to play, and Indy would fail to pick it. With the game essentially over Rob Bironas would hit a 53 yard FG to make it a one-TD lead and finish off the Colts.

A very disappointing game for Indy on both sides of the ball. Despite dominating the Texans statistically, and holding Arian Foster to a meager 33 yards, the long TD bomb and the pick-6 would doom Indianapolis.

2014 Colts - Week 5

1:00PM EST - October 5th, 2014
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts
Oct 5, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Baltimore Ravens (2-3, 1-1 Away)	0	10	0	10	20
Indianapolis Colts (3-2, 1-2 Home)	7	3	0	7	17

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 349YDS, TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 12CAR, 118YDS
Receiving : O. Daniels (BAL) - 9REC, 137YDS

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts would head into their match up with the Ravens looking like one of the better teams in the league. Two straight wins in which the Colts dominated their opponents would help build their confidence, but the Jaguars and Titans played like they may be some of the worst teams in football. Despite the winning, the Colts defense has struggled regularly.

The Ravens, even though a shadow of their Superbowl winning team, would present a number of issues for the Indy defense. The biggest issue would be the Ravens balanced attack, starting with Joe Flacco under center and the weapons at his disposal. Aside from the opening game against Denver, the Colts haven't faced a team with a running threat (Ray Rice) and a bevvy of receiving options (Torrey Smith, Steve Smith, and Owen Daniels) to complicate things.

Andrew Luck opened the scoring with a 1 yard QB sneak after TY Hilton was tackled on the 1, a disturbing theme for the game. Vinatieri would miss a 53 yard attempt near the end of the 1st, which would prove a costly mistake.

Rice would even the score with a short TD run after a long pass to Smith Sr. on an all-out blitz, and then Matt Elam would pick of Luck on a deep seam to set up a Justin Tucker FG and a 10-7 lead. Things would finally go the Colts way after two fumbles (Hilton on the kickoff and Reggie Wayne after a short pass) would be overturned after review. Vinatieri would tie the game on a 40 yard FG with time expiring.

Smith would be a constant headache.

The entire second half was all Ravens, the Colts defense could barely keep them from scoring and the defense was all over Luck's targets. Hakeem Nicks would get close to scoring, but a fumble on the 5 would kill the drive. The Colts would stone Rice on two straight rushing attempts, and it looked as though a punt from the endzone was coming, but on 3rd and 10 Rice would run for 31 yards to get them out of trouble. The drive would span the 3rd and 4th quarter and end with a Tucker 51 yarder and a 13-10 lead.

Luck, on his way to near 350 passing yards, would engineer a drive that ended with a short TD pass to TY Hilton. The Ravens, and Smith Sr. again, would torment the Colts defense thanks to a 39 yard TD bomb to take a 20-17 lead. Luck would have one more drive in him, taking the offense down the field with less than 2:00 to play in the game. The Ravens defense opened up, and with the clock ticking down Luck hit Wayne for a 37 yard gain that would win the game. Unfortunately Wayne was tackled on the 1 yard line, reaching for the endzone, but the refs did not give it to him and the Ravens walked away victorious.

Another inch would have won the game.

Despite Robert Mathis' two sacks, and the team limiting Flacco to only 250 yards, the Colts defense was burned again and again by big plays.

2014 Colts - Week 4

1:00 PM EST - September 28th, 2014
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Sep 28, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tennessee Titans (2-2, 2-1 Away)	0	0	0	0	0
Indianapolis Colts (3-1, 1-1 Home)	0	0	10	21	31

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 281YDS, TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 23CAR, 110YDS, 2TD
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 8REC, 102YDS

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts would face an AFC South foe for the second week in a row, but this time they would have the services of starting C Khaled Holmes. They would also avoid facing Jake Locker thanks to a shoulder injury, Brian Hoyer would get the nod for the Titans.

The entire first half of this game was filled with offensive miscues that helped both defenses look good. The Titans managed to stone Trent Richardson in the 1st quarter on a 4th & Goal attempt from the 2, and then Andrew Luck would throw a sloppy INT in the endzone just before half time.

It isn't clear what either coach said during the break, but whatever Chuck Pagano said worked really well. The Colts broke the deadlock with a 28 yard FG by Adam Vinatieri, but their relief was short lived. TY Hilton would have to leave the game after dislocating his wrist, leaving Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Allen to shoulder the receiving load.

Richardson would have a big day on the ground.

Richardson would sneak in from a yard out to make it 10-0, and then basically walk into the endzone in the 4th to make it 17-0. A TD pass to Da'Rick Rogers would basically put the game away at 24-0 with the way the Titans were playing. Hoyer had a horrible day and the Titans couldn't run the ball at any point. Shonn Greene would finish with 12 carries for 22 yards.

Rogers evades a sloppy tackle on his way to a score.

The final humiliation came with the Titans threatening to score, finally getting into the redzone. A bad pass to Kendall Wright would find the arms of Vontae Davis on the 7 yard line, and he would run it all the way back for a pick-six and the final score of 31-0.

2014 Colts - Week 3

1:00 PM EST - September 21st, 2014
EverBank Field - Jacksonville, FL

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sep 21, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indianapolis Colts (2-1, 2-0 Away)	7	3	7	10	27
Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3, 0-1 Home)	0	3	0	0	3

Top Performers

Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 324YDS, 2TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 18CAR, 92YDS, TD
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 8REC, 115YDS

JACKSONVILLE - The rain started falling well before kickoff and it continued to come down hard when the final whistle blew. The wind was manageable for this game, but the field was a mess and would cause issues for the Colts passing game.

Andrew Luck was not lucky to start the game, taking a hard hit from Chris Clemons on his very first pass attempt. The hit would knock Luck out for a few plays, but that was basically the best Jacksonville's defensive line could muster during the downpour. Luck would give Indy a 7-0 lead with an 11 yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne.

The Jaguars would make things interesting to open the game with an interception on a long pass to Hilton, but the Colts would recover and completely dominate this game on both sides of the ball. Adam Vinatieri would make it 10-3 with a 34 yard FG to open the 2nd quarter, and Josh Scobee would answer back with a 45 yarder to break the shutout.

The Colts running game would help overcome the weather.

A Wayne TD in the 3rd and another Vinatieri FG in the 4th would give the Colts a 20-3 lead and the Jaguars basically folded. The Colts would eat up the clock and add a Trent Richardson TD run for good measure to end the game 27-3. Jacksonville would finish the game with less than 100 yards of total offense and a whopping 7 sacks allowed.