The Indianapolis Colts came as close as it gets to making the NFL playoffs but ultimately came up short in doing so. The team will have to get aggressive in the offseason to improve enough to not only win the AFC South in 2022, but to make the playoffs altogether.
There was a significant reliance from the Colts offense on Jonathan Taylor and the running game. He finished 332 rush attempts, 1,811 rushing yards, and 18 touchdown runs. There was a long stretch where he was considered an MVP candidate by some.
Where the Colts offense underachieved often was in the passing game. There were too many situations when a ‘money down’ that Carson Wentz failed to execute a make-able throw, or just an inability to make big plays, in general. Colts GM Chris Ballard made it clear the team will ‘evaluate everything’ during the offseason.
“Our passing game has to be better,” Ballard said, via The Athletic’s Stephen Holder . “It just has to be.”
There has been no shortage of criticism for Wentz’ execution as a passer throughout the 2021 season. His mechanics became sloppy at times and that’s something he will need to fine-tune throughout the offseason to get to the level of the ‘really accurate QBs’ in the NFL.
LATEST NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Former Colts’ Star Thinks Team Should Move On From Carson Wentz
The season finale from Wentz was almost a perfect microcosm of the limitations he offered the Colts offense. In the 26-11 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he completed just 17 of his 29 pass attempts for 185 yards, one touchdown along with two turnovers (one interception, one fumble) and was sacked six times.
The poor outing that Wentz provided against the Jaguars was a rough follow up to a poor outing against the Las Vegas Raiders in the Colts’ 23-20 loss in the week prior. In that performance, Wentz completed just 16 of 27 pass attempts resulting in 148 yards and one touchdown.
“We got on a roll there and were playing really good ball until the final two weeks of the season,” Ballard said. “We have processes in place. I’m not going to overreact. But I’m pissed. We embarrassed ourselves.”
LATEST NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Former Colts’ Star Thinks Team Should Move On From Carson Wentz
The Indianapolis Colts will have a more challenging outlook to do what they want at the quarterback position given they lost their first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft as a result of the Carson Wentz trade despite not making the playoffs.
