Stephen Holder, ESPN
DENVER — Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor crossed the goal line and did a happy dance to celebrate his apparent 41-yard touchdown. He then walked to the sidelines and the celebrations continued.
Then it suddenly stopped.
Taylor’s touchdown would have given the Colts a two-touchdown lead in a crucial game against the Denver Broncos, but Taylor’s touchdown was under review and ultimately overturned because officials ruled he let the ball go before it crossed the goal line. football line.
Taylor dropped the ball unconsciously as it crossed the goal line, perhaps in the excitement of a long run. The ball then went out of bounds in the end zone, which according to the rules was a touch. The Colts never recovered, and the Nuggets scored 24 points late in the game and cemented their playoff spot with a 31-13 victory.
“No matter what the game was, no matter what the scenario was, there was no way this was going to happen,” Taylor said later. “In the playoffs, the first game of the season, you could be up 50 points or you could be down 50 points. That should never happen.”
Taylor said he didn’t know what happened until after the game.
“I didn’t know until they started saying they were reviewing it,” he said. “I thought, ‘Why are they censoring it?'”
Taylor’s performance was emblematic of a game in which the Colts made countless mistakes, all of which resulted in a loss that put them in the AFC playoff picture. The Colts committed five turnovers, were penalized eight times and had some key turnovers in punt coverage that led to points for the Broncos.
“Sometimes someone gives you their best, and your best isn’t good enough,” Taylor said. “But when you hurt yourself like that, that person gets hurt.”
The Colts (6-8) are trying to close the gap on the Broncos for the league’s seventh and final playoff spot. Instead, the Broncos moved into sixth place and the Colts remained in eighth, now two games behind the seventh-place Los Angeles Chargers. Indianapolis hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020. Even the Broncos were confused by Taylor’s fumble.
“That’s a big deal,” coach Sean Payton said. “I don’t understand. I’m not going to try… You go from driving a long touchdown for your team to us running the ball.”
Safety Brandon Jones was relieved he couldn’t stop Taylor’s drive.
“I had a bad angle and didn’t throw him to the ground,” he said. “So, I feel bad for myself. It’s good to see that happen in hindsight. There’s a lot of momentum.”
Another notable play for the Colts was a fumble that resulted in a 50-yard touchdown to the Broncos.
With 12:29 left in the game and the Broncos leading 17-13, Colts head coach Shane Steichen asked quarterback Anthony Richardson to hand across the field to the receiver. Ball player Adonai Mitchell, who then attempted a lateral pass back to Richardson. But Mitchell’s decision backfired when linebacker Nik Bonitto watched the play and intercepted the ball from Richardson. From the side, the play was ruled a fumble, and Bonito’s score was technically a fumble.
“I don’t think the guy he saw was completely honest,” Steichen said of Mitchell. Steichen said that if something vintage wasn’t available, Mitchell’s instructions were to “throw it out.”
“We’ve been repeating this all week and it’s been great,” Steichen said. “Looking great all week.”
Interestingly, the Colts’ imperfect execution may have let the Broncos know something was afoot.
“It’s a slow-moving game, so I knew some things were weird,” Bonito said. “…When I saw Richardson drift back a little bit, I decided to try and break it.”
