DeForest Buckner hasn’t given up hope, with the Indianapolis Colts still clinging to a 15% chance to make the playoffs , per The Athletic ’s playoff projection model. But deep down, the veteran defensive tackle knows his team blew its best shot at a postseason bid, and how it happened makes it even more difficult to accept. Advertisement Indianapolis was on the brink of taking a 20-7 lead Sunday before Jonathan Taylor prematurely dropped the ball on what should’ve been a 41-yard TD.
Denver went on to score 24 unanswered points in a 31-13 victory that will likely keep the Colts out of the playoffs for the fourth straight season. “We haven’t played a great complementary football game all year,” Buckner said Sunday. “Early on, the offense was hot.
Then, all of a sudden, the defense we started rallying up with the run game and getting a little better. Then, all of a sudden, the offense struggles. Special teams has been pretty solid all year.
Then, in this game, we had a bunch of penalties. We haven’t put a complete game together. That’s what’s most frustrating.
” GO DEEPER Colts' calamities pile up in collapse against Broncos that crushes playoff dreams Buckner emphasized that he still believes in his teammates and coaches, and he’ll fight alongside them until the end. But even if the Colts finish the season with three wins — a tall task, even against some very bad teams — they’d still only be 9-8 and likely on the outside of the playoff picture. Just.
