Daniel Jones’ season has come to an abrupt finish after the Indianapolis Colts quarterback suffered a torn Achilles throughout Sunday’s 36-19 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The setback is a serious blow for a Colts group that had surged to a record-breaking offensive tempo by way of the primary half of the marketing campaign however is now fading, with a rookie backup quarterback and a tough run of video games forward.
Alec Pierce described the second as devastating for the locker room. “That’s our group chief, our group captain,” the extensive receiver stated. “It’s brutal.”
Jones went down late within the opening quarter after dropping again to cross on a rain-soaked area. He appeared to plant awkwardly earlier than collapsing and clutching the again of his decrease proper leg.
Visibly pissed off, he slammed his helmet to the bottom as trainers rushed to him. After being examined within the medical tent, he headed to the locker room and was rapidly dominated out.
Colts coach Shane Steichen didn’t formally affirm the prognosis however made clear the group feared the worst. “It might be season-ending,” he stated. When requested to make clear, Steichen added, “It’s not trying good.”
Jones had already been taking part in by way of what was believed to be a hairline fracture in his left fibula. Regardless of the ache and restricted mobility in current weeks, he had continued to begin and confirmed higher motion early on in Jacksonville.
Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard changed Jones, finishing 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards in his first significant NFL motion. He praised Jones for returning to the sideline after the harm to help him.
“Daniel’s the hardest man that I’ve ever been round, by far, in my life,” Leonard stated. He additionally highlighted Jones’ presence throughout the sport.
“He’s essentially the most aggressive individual that I’ve ever met,” Leonard added. “So, it’s no shock that he got here again on the market. He was the primary one to place the rain gear on me, the primary one to ask me what I noticed on that play and assist me out. It’s simply precisely who he’s, whether or not he’s taking part in or not.”
The loss dropped Indianapolis out of the AFC South lead, with Jacksonville transferring into first place. The Colts, who began the season 7-1, have now misplaced 4 of their previous 5 and face a tricky remaining schedule: at Seattle, then house video games towards San Francisco and Jacksonville, earlier than ending at Houston. Their playoff place additionally stays in danger based mostly on different Week 14 outcomes.
Pierce stated the group should rapidly regroup. “That’ll be the problem this week. Refocus. That previous, there’s nothing we will do. We knew the magnitude of this sport. We would have liked to win this one. However all we will do is give attention to the following one.”
Steichen echoed the sentiment. “We’ve received every little thing we wish nonetheless in entrance of us. We’ve received to go,” he stated. “So, we’ve received to get this factor cleaned up and prepare for Seattle. We’ve received an enormous one on the street. That’s the message at this time.”
