The Indianapolis Colts were one of the biggest favorites in Week 1 heading on the road to face off with their AFC South rivals in the Houston Texans. It was not a game many people expected to be close as the Colts were touchdown favorites.
The Texans surprised a lot of people as they held their own. Houston led 20-3 heading into the fourth quarter before blowing that lead and heading into overtime. Indianapolis had a chance to win the game there as well, but Rodrigo Blankenship missed a 42-yard attempt that would have sealed the come-from-behind victory.
It certainly wasn’t the debut that Matt Ryan was hoping for, as he made his first start after being acquired from the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. Hopes were high entering the season as Ryan was expected to elevate the team above the levels that Carson Wentz did last season.
Wentz certainly got the last laugh in Week 1, as he led a come-from-behind victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars for the Washington Commanders. Wentz wasn’t as lucky, as the Colts’ comeback bid fell just short. It was a game that Ryan shared that he felt was weird in his press conference following the game.
“[I]t’s the first time for a tie in the NFL, so it’s strange. It was a weird game,” Ryan said in his postgame press conference. “Obviously, a lot of mistakes in the first half, really the first three quarters. Then we got rolling in the fourth. You’re disappointed to not come out of here with a win. At the same time, we didn’t lose, and we’ve got to find a way to tighten things up.”
“But the effort across the board to me is encouraging. I think if we play with that kind of intensity, clean up some of these mistakes, and just execute a little bit better, there’s a lot of things we can build on.”
Ryan finished the game completing 32-of-50 passes for 352 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He became the second fastest player to reach the 60,000-yard plateau in NFL history, but he would have assuredly traded that mark for a win in his Colts debut.
The offense went scoreless for more than two straight quarters, getting shutout in the second and third quarters after scratching out a field goal on their second drive of the game. There is certainly work remaining to do with Ryan and the offense.
“I think if we can clean things up, tighten things up a little bit, we’re going to be just fine,” Ryan said. “But we need to tighten them up. There has to be a sense of urgency to get that done. This is a good example for us of, it needs to be right. It needs to be right from the start. Coming back at the end, giving ourselves a chance, that’s great, but all of the plays matter. We’ve got to be sharp from the start.”
Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. played like the stars they were billed as, carrying the load for the offense. Finding complementary players around them will be important as the season moves along and will make life easier on Ryan to help avoid the team becoming predictable or one-dimensional.
