DeForest Buckner lit the Indianapolis Colts on fire on Monday.
After falling to the New York Giants on Sunday, who officially eliminated them from the postseason race, it’s easy to see why.
“I’ll be honest, like the whole team, we’re going to bed for another year and it’s frustrating,” he said, via the Indianapolis Star. “I can see what we have. We just can’t get over that hump.”
The Colts fell to 7-9 on the season after Sunday’s loss, which came at the hands of the spiraling Giants. Indianapolis allowed Drew Lock to throw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, and the Giants scored 45 points in the shootout victory despite entering the game with the worst offense in the league. It was the most points they have allowed all season, and the most points they have given up to the Giants since 1950.
The loss marked the third time in the past four seasons that the Colts have failed in a must-win situation when it comes to the playoffs. They have won just one playoff game in the last ten years.
Former Colts punter and current ESPN analyst Pat McAfee also attacked the organization on social media after Sunday’s loss.
“A blind person could see the red flags on this team,” he wrote in part.
I said what I believed was the truth about the team. And a bunch of “Colts fans” on the internet tried to get me out of town.
Current players, who have not won anything during their entire tenure, started using me and my face to portray me as the enemy in… https://t.co/qCWb7SL1l8
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 30, 2024
There’s plenty to point out when it comes to the Colts’ issues this season. Quarterback Anthony Richardson struggled early, even taking himself out of a game at one point because he was tired, before Joe Flacco came in to replace him due to various injuries. Another perfect example came when running back Jonathan Taylor made a brutal mistake earlier this month when he fumbled an inch before crossing the goal line and blew a pinpoint touchdown. Just about everyone from last year’s 9-8 team returned this season, the second under coach Shane Steichen, but they clearly took a step back.
Buckner, who is completing his fifth season with the franchise, joined the calls for changes this season. Whether that includes Steichen or general manager Chris Ballard – who is in his eighth season but has just one playoff win and just two winning campaigns to his name – remains to be seen.
“There’s obviously going to be people who are still going to be in the building, people who aren’t,” Buckner said. “Changes are going to have to be made, you know what I mean? I understand that, and we all understand that in the building. You have to make those changes for the better.”
The Colts close out the regular season on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, although that game doesn’t matter much now.
“Every year, every team is different,” Taylor said Sunday, via ESPN. “Next week will be the last time that all 53 boys will be in the locker room.
“That’s the reality of the business. But if you have a season and it doesn’t go the way you want, there can be more changes than normal.”
