In 18 years of being a Colts fan, it seems like every year is special in its own way, but every year ends with the bitter pill of a playoff defeat. This has been the case in all but three seasons, two in which landed the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft to land Peyton Manning and then Andrew Luck and the other in 2007, when the team defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
2013 was no different than all those other years, with some great moments and some frustrating ones that make you wonder if the Colts' identity will always be contenders that are too weak to impose their will on the opposition.
The best part of this season was without a doubt the team's dramatic 45-44 come-from-behind playoff victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Down 38-10 in the third, I was certain the season was coming to an end, only keeping the game on to see how they would play things out.
It turned out to be a comeback for the ages, as the Colts erased that four-touchdown deficit slowly but surely, and punched their ticket to the Divisional Round. Things started out quickly thanks to Andrew Luck (who will be MVP one day) and Robert Mathis. Once they cut the deficit to 14, I knew it was possible and a few Kansas City mistakes later, the comeback was complete.
Another memorable moment from the 2013 season is Manning's return to the Circle City when Denver came to town on October 20. While Manning received a much deserved standing ovation, the Colts had the last word on that night, being the first team to beat the Broncos this year, 39-33.
Keep in mind the Colts not only beat Denver, but other stalwarts like San Francisco, Seattle and the Chiefs twice. They seemed to play their best against the highest competition, but would falter against the likes of St. Louis (I was there for that debacle), Miami and San Diego.
The Colts traded a No. 1 draft pick for Trent Richardson, which has not panned out. Give him one more year to learn the system before we can say for sure he is a bust. Either way, hopefully a healthy Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw will give Indy a better running game in 2014, although Donald Brown played admirably throughout 2013.
The season came to an end the way it had a few times during the Manning-era, with a loss to the more-disciplined, organized and better-coached Patriots. It's no shame losing to the Pats in the playoffs, but there really is no worse way to end the season.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
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