INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts finished last season with an 8-9 record, missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. While unpredictable, often disastrous quarterback play made the team unreliable from week to week, there were some defining moments that showed exactly why the team as a whole wasn't ready for the postseason.
One of those moments came in Week 15 on the road against the Denver Broncos in a rowdy environment. The Broncos were widely regarded as the better team, but the Colts came out with a good game plan, controlling the matchup through the first half and holding a 13-7 lead that felt much larger due to the performance of the defense.
That defense forced an interception of the Broncos to open the second half, making the Colts ripe for blowing the game open on the ensuing drive. It looked like that might happen as Colts running back Jonathan Taylor flew 41 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
However, the officiating crew took extra time verifying the play and discovered that Taylor dropped the ball on his way to the end zone in an act of premature celebration, just centimeters before the goal line, with the ball then rolling out of bounds through the end zone for a touchback.
That play, unfortunately for Taylor, is largely considered the turning point in that game. It went from what would've been a 20-7 lead in the second half to completely shifting the momentum, allowing Denver to go on a 24-0 run for the rest of the game.
"Nah," Taylor responded when asked if his flub would give him extra motivation this Sunday at home against the Broncos. "I mean, I'm somebody — I think if you need to use other things to motivate you — I'm intrinsically motivated. So, if you don't want to go out there every single game and be the best player on the field, I don't know what to tell you. That's just my mentality every single week, every single game I go out there. So, just taking this approach, knowing it's a great defense, it's almost like a challenge. It's a challenge for the offense to say, 'Hey, how good can we really be?'"
The Colts ultimately lost that matchup in Denver, 31-13. Outside of that infamous play, Taylor actually had a good day against a tough Broncos defense. He touched the ball 23 times for 111 yards, but the drop is all anyone remembers about his presence in that game.
The Colts held a 6-7 record at that point, facing an 8-5 Broncos team that was directly competing for a playoff spot with them, with three games remaining. The loss essentially ended the Colts' chances of the postseason, while Denver later advanced to the playoffs.
Taylor, whether intentionally or not, will get a chance to fix his mistake and beat the Broncos on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.