Colts Taylor demands a new standard after playoff elimination

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The Indianapolis Colts will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season after suffering an embarrassing loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

The 45-33 loss to a Giants team that entered the game with the NFL’s worst record should prompt reevaluation among all of the team’s players and staff, running back Jonathan Taylor said.

The Colts allowed the most points and set a season high in any meeting with the Giants since 1950. This left many Colts stunned and silent.

But not Taylor.

“I think the level needs to be raised,” he said after a 125-yard run. “The playoffs have to be the standard. The teams that are there year after year, that’s their standard. Say, “Hey, we’re going to fight, scratch and scrape every year to make sure that’s the standard that you meet.”

“For us, 2020 was the last time we came in. We have to come in. You have to come in to establish that standard. Like, ‘Listen, the Indianapolis Colts’ standard is the playoffs.'”

Indianapolis (7-9) entered the game with realistic playoff hopes after the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. The Colts needed a win against the Giants and a win over the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 and a little help elsewhere to clinch the AFC’s final playoff spot.

But Sunday’s loss meant they hadn’t checked the most important box in their playoff scenarios. The Colts haven’t won a playoff game since 2018 and haven’t won an AFC South championship since 2014, when they advanced to the conference championship game.

Sunday’s loss marked the third time in four seasons that the Colts had a must-win situation in the final weeks of a season and failed. In 2021, the Colts inexplicably lost to the two-win Jaguars in Week 18 when they faced a win-and-in scenario.

Last season, the Colts played a home game against the Houston Texans in the season finale to determine the division champion. Indianapolis also lost that game.

Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. entered the postseason as a rookie in 2020 and hasn’t been back since, teaching a hard-learned lesson.

“It’s frustrating, especially when we actually did it my first year and I was like, ‘Hey, we do this every year,'” he said. “And I quickly humiliated myself. We just have to do something different. I don’t know what that is.”

The Colts watched as Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers had a dominant performance, with seven catches for 171 yards and touchdowns of 31 and 59 yards. In total, the Giants managed six plays of 30 yards or longer.

Entering the game, New York had only nine such plays in their last 15 contests.

“Embarrassing,” linebacker Zaire Franklin called it. “It’s disappointing. Just hit it at full steam. What we did defensively was simply more than acceptable.”

Now the Colts are faced with the question of what comes next. They have brought back almost all of their squad from last season’s 9-8 team and have added a number of experienced signings in the hope of taking the next step.

Instead, they will finish with fewer wins and have arguably taken a step backwards. What will this all mean for the roster, coach Shane Steichen, quarterback Anthony Richardson and eighth-year general manager Chris Ballard?

“Every year, every team is different,” Taylor said. “Next week will be the last time all 53 guys will be in this locker room.

“That’s the reality of the business. But when you have a season and it doesn’t go the way you want it to, there can be more changes than usual.”