The Indianapolis Colts (6-8) were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints (11-3). The embarrassing loss marked an all-time low on the season for the young team.
No one expected the Colts to roll into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and shut down the reeling Saints. They were losers in five of their last six games entering Monday night, and their season was all but over.
Still, there was hope for a competitive outing. However, the product the Colts put on the field in primetime was utterly embarrassing. There is no other way around it. It was a massacre regardless of the way it is viewed.
This game was probably more difficult to watch than the 27-0 shellacking against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017.
Not only did the Colts get officially kicked out of the playoff race, but they also did so in an immaculate fashion.
They allowed Drew Brees to break Peyton Manning’s touchdown record with ease. They also allowed Brees to set an NFL record in completion percentage in a single game (96.7%).
They had absolutely no answer for wide receiver Michael Thomas, who caught all 12 of his targets for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Then the offense laid an egg. The only reason they didn’t get shutout was because of the garbage-time, one-yard touchdown run by Jordan Wilkins with four minutes left in the game.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett continues to regress. He was erratic with his passes all night and finished with a measly 66.4 rating. His 52.9% completion rate was helped by screen passes late in the game, but that was his third-worst recording of the season. He had worst completion numbers against the Raiders (52.2%) and the Bucs (52.8%).
In just seven games, this Colts team is incredibly different than the 5-2 squad that seemed poised to make a second-half run for the division.
The blame goes everywhere. It is on Brissett for his inability to lead the offense. It falls on Frank Reich and Matt Eberflus for not having the team prepared with an extra day of rest this week.
No matter how its spun, this loss will go down as one of their worst of all-time, and the sputtering Colts hit an all-time low this season with the abysmal loss Monday night.