Doyel: Will real 2023 Colts stand up? Or was that them, lying down in Cincinnati?

Doyel: Will the actual Colts of 2023 stand up? Or were they just lying in Cincinnati?

The Colts didn’t lose everything when they lost 34–14 to the Bengals on Sunday. Didn’t we all learn a new word? The word is “leverage,” which we already knew. In sports, leverage is usually a good thing.

It wasn’t until the Bengals were kicking an extra point that those three points were turned into a score.

This happened when one Colt pushed off another to get the highest position possible, failing to block the attempt but getting a penalty.

Those were four straight wins for the Colts. We saw them take place. Some strange plays helped them win, like Kenny Moore picking off two passes against Carolina and blocking two punts against Tennessee.

It was fun to watch as they beat a New England team which scored only six points. They beat Tampa Bay due to some shady play by coach Shane Steichen.

The 2023 Indianapolis Colts (7-6) haven’t had their story told yet, but they only have four games left. A lot of bad things happened all at once that we can’t let happen again.

“We did a lot of damage to ourselves,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “Penalties in serious cases and some bad luck that happened today out there.”

For another reason, the Colts were placed 11th in the league within sack rate. This was due to their strong offensive line.

The Colts are running the ball well for most of this season. Of course, even when Zack Moss fills in for a hurt Jonathan Taylor, which he did for a sixth time on Sunday.

Moss entered the season placed 11th in the NFL with 723 rushing yards. The back of his football card shows that he has never been one of the top 11 backs or even in the top 30. We can credit the team’s much-improved offensive line for his big season.

Moss ran 13 times for 28 yards on Sunday, but Colts QB Gardner Minshew was sacked three times.

It should have been a total of four, but his mistake in the final minute of the game was changed into an interception, so there was only one sack.

Strangest of all, the Colts offensive blocker who was hurt the most was left tackle Bernard Raimann, who has been called one of the team’s best players lately.

Trey Hendrickson, a Bengals defensive end, beat up Raimann from the first play (a sack) until the end of the game. This is his second season and he’s a lot bigger and stronger.

He made it possible for Hendrickson to get two sacks and force which interception by crashing into Minshew.

He was also given a personal foul over tripping Hendrickson in order to prevent another sack, which Hendrickson did by putting him on his back with his feet up.

The Bengals used Bryan’s strength to refuse to kick the field goal they had just made and go for a touchdown instead.

There was a 38-yard kick that Gay missed as well as the extra point that he missed, though Luke Rhodes’s bad snap is likely to blame for that one.

Then there was the play that won it all: kick returner Isaiah McKenzie lost the ball shortly into the fourth quarter.

Even though Ameer Speed lost the ball, he won’t get credit for it since he plays for the Colts.

McKenzie was asking for the fair catch, and the punt was short. In spite of not hearing him, Speed kept blocking, but he did such a bad job that he was pushed backward into McKenzie to be the ball came in. Speed needs to either clean his ears or do more on leg day.

The Colts’ chances of making the playoffs got worse when they lost to the Bengals 34–14 on Sunday, but maybe not as significantly as you think.

The New York Times says that the Colts’ odds have dropped from 66% to 41%. There are six teams in the AFC with records of 7–6, and the Colts are in seventh and final place.

What’s good? Indianapolis has a better chance of making it than Pittsburgh, which has a 25% chance. What’s wrong? There are six 7-6 teams in the running for the last two playoff spots.

The Colts are in third place, behind Denver (50%) as well as Houston (45%). After beating Kansas City, Buffalo is at 39%.