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For the fourth straight year, the Indianapolis Colts will miss the playoffs after a tumultuous 2024 season. While the end result was not a total shock, losing to the 3-13 New York Giants to miss the playoffs was the main talking point among the frustrated fanbase.
The Colts played the game without Anthony Richardson but put it in the capable hands of Joe Flacco, who had started four previous games in 2024. With the season on the line, Flacco threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions against the Giant's bottom-barrel secondary.
The team's biggest issue was not its offense, which scored 33 points in the game. Instead, their defense was a bigger issue, ceding 45 points to a New York offense that entered the game averaging just 14.3 points per outing. They also entered the game as the only team in the league that had not reached 30 points in any game of the year.
While the Colts still have one game left in the regular season, their 2024 campaign is unofficially over. While many factors can be blamed, three key factors stood out most on paper.
Colts WR Josh Downs
Alec Pierce leads the Colts in receiving yards on the year, but Josh Downs is widely recognized as the team's top weapon in the passing game. Entering the game, the notorious remark on his season had been his significantly improved numbers with Flacco at quarterback rather than Richardson.
In Flacco's four previous starts, Downs averaged 7.25 receptions and 66.75 receiving yards. He notched eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown in the other game that Richardson started but exited early with an injury. Five of his seven best performances of the year came with Flacco at the helm instead of Richardson.
His increased production with Flacco seemed to be a direct result of Richardson's inefficient arm talent. Downs entered Week 17 as the 10th-best receiver in the NFL at getting separation, finding himself open on 67 percent of his routes. Yet, in Week 17, that was not the case.
Against the Giants, Downs managed just three catches for 22 yards and zero touchdowns. Disappointing is an understatement in a game in which Flacco threw for 330 yards on 41 dropbacks. Particularly late in the game when the Colts were forced to chase points, Downs was nowhere to be seen.
Colts DT DeForest Buckner
The Giants' offensive line has been weak all year long but was especially vulnerable in Week 17. Center John Michael Schmitz, one of their few reliable blockers on the year, did not play with an ankle injury.
Schmitz's absence opened up the middle of the Giants' offensive line for the Colts, namely DeForest Buckner, to exploit. As the leader of the team's defensive line, Buckner entered the game with a 17 percent pass rush win rate, the highest among all defensive tackles. Kwity Paye leads them in sacks, but everything begins with Buckner in the middle.
On paper, a matchup between a backup center and the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in the league would be a fully one-sided affair. That ended up being true, just not in the Colts' favor. Buckner generated zero quarterback pressures in the game and just five tackles overall.
To their credit, the Colts did an admirable job limiting Tyrone Tracy Jr. to just 59 rushing yards on 20 carries. The problem was their lack of pass rush against an offensive line featuring three backup blockers. Again, that unit starts and ends with Buckner.
Colts DE Dayo Odeyingbo
Buckner did not have the impact that he should have, but generating pressure mostly falls on the shoulders of edge rushers. Paye has been the leader of that group all season but in Week 17, Dayo Odeyingbo was the biggest underachiever on the outside.
The Giants started Jermaine Eluemunor and Evan Neal at tackle in the game. Neither are considered high-level pass blockers, but Neal is the weaker link of the two. While Eluemunor is still a quality starting tackle, the same cannot be said for Neal, whose 49.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF ranks among the worst in the league.
As the right-side edge rusher, Odeyingbo matched up with Neal for most of the game. Since losing Andrew Thomas and Jon Runyan, the Giants have given up sacks and pressures at a league-worst rate. Yet, Week 17 was the first game of the year in which Drew Lock was not sacked all game.
As the team's top edge rusher, Paye should take a lot of the blame. But Odeyingbo should have lived in the backfield with the soft matchup against Neal. All players have their off games, but posting a dud against this Giants team with the playoffs on the line is unacceptable.
