In 2022, when Jeff Saturday was interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Indy blew a 33-point lead against the Minnesota Vikings. Saturday explains how.
by Jaleel Grandberry
The Indianapolis Colts are currently 7-5 and in possession of a playoff spot. With just five games remaining, against mediocre opponents, it seems like Indy is on its way to the team’s first postseason appearance since 2020. However, things were not all good just a year ago.
Last season was a nightmare for the Colts. After entering the 2022 season with high expectations, Indianapolis fell flat on its face several times enroute to a 4-12-1 season. The most embarrassing moment of the year came in Week 15, when Indy lost in overtime to the Minnesota Vikings after leading 33-0 at halftime.
As everyone knows, franchise legend Jeff Saturday was the interim head coach of the team at the time. Saturday, who’s now back at ESPN, recently joined The Pat McAfee Show and discussed his time as an NFL head coach. Part of that was Saturday detailing the Minnesota game, and while the situation was embarrassing when it happened, Saturday’s account of his experience was hilarious.
The most interesting part of Saturday’s perspective is that he knew the Colts were in trouble at halftime.
Jeff Saturday knew Colts were in trouble against Vikings at halftime
Saturday said he walked into the locker room at halftime and said, “Boys, we’re in trouble.” Saturday knew Indianapolis was in trouble because everything was going the Colts’ way, but they were still struggling offensively. Indy’s 33 points came from a blocked punt return for a touchdown, a pick-six, four field goals, and one offensive touchdown. Despite being gifted with good field position a couple of times, the offense couldn’t make much happen. That let Saturday know that the game was far from over.
Desperate to establish some offense in the second half, the Colts called a shot play. According to Saturday, the play was there, but for some reason, Matt Ryan didn’t throw it. After that, it once again set in that Indianapolis was in trouble. That’s when the avalanche started. Indianapolis couldn’t get anything going offensively and defensively, Indy couldn’t stop the Vikings, regardless of what they ran.
Ultimately, Saturday said the Colts had their shots but couldn’t get it done. Now removed from the situation, all he can do is laugh about it. Now that the Colts are on to better times, maybe everyone else can laugh about it too.
Originally posted on horseshoeheroes.com