Colts 'Adapt, Adjust' To COVID News To Pull Off Christmas Day Miracle

Missing roughly half of its starting lineup and making a cross-country trip to Arizona, the Colts found a way to win when the chips were down, remaining red-hot down the stretch. (Video via Indianapolis Colts YouTube)

Seemingly each and every week for the last month or so, teams across the NFL have been decimated by players landing on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in the days leading up to games — some landing on the list even the morning of games. 

Eventually, that issue across the league was going to catch up with the Indianapolis Colts, and boy did it in Week 16 as the Colts were missing eight starters heading into the Christmas Day matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Unfazed though and leaning on the leadership of head coach Frank Reich, the Colts pulled out a remarkable 22-16 win on a night in which they refused to flinch, were undaunted in the task at hand and played smart, team-oriented football to topple one of the top teams in the NFC — all while missing seemingly half of its starting lineup. 

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

“It was pretty crazy, but as far as getting the news, we woke up this [Saturday] morning, got some good news. The first news I got was a text which looked like we were good, and then all of a sudden, we weren’t good," Reich said to reporters following the win over the Cardinals, according to video via Colts.com. "That was interesting, but we adapted, we adjusted, and there was no flinching. It was adjusting and adapting as you’re saying to personnel groups, and things like that. Coaches handled that very well.”

The Colts certainly adjusted, adapted and handled things very well, looking like a well-oiled machine throughout the night on both sides of the football. 

That, Reich said, is a testament to the men in the facility who have been able to handle anything and everything thrown at them in this wild ride of a 2021 season, from training camp injuries to deflating losses, and even HBO's cameras in the room 24/7. 

“Just character, belief, trust in each other and in the process," Reich said. "We talked about it [Saturday], ‘Hey, we’re prepared for this. We’ve practiced this. Everyone going out there today has practiced every one of these plays a million times. There’s no excuses, no explanations. We’re prepared for this, we’ve practiced these reps over and over and let’s just go perform.’ And that’s what they did.”

© Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Though the Colts are pretty adept at adjusting on the fly to meet any situation the season has thrown at them from late July to present day, the ever-changing world with COVID-19 and the latest Omicron variant, along with the (seemingly daily) changing protocols has made it difficult to plan ahead. 

The Colts made no excuses though. 

“It can be any minute for anybody. It’s a virus, so it is what it is at this point in the season," Reich said. "We’ll be ready for whatever we have to do. We’ll hope for the best, but every team is going through it. Every team has the same thing. That’s why nobody was making a big deal about it. Just look around the league. It’s going all over the place. We’re just going to have to deal with whatever hand we’re dealt and still find ways to win games.”

Win they did. 

After a fast start with Jonathan Taylor on the ground and a stifling defense against MVP candidate quarterback Kyler Murray, the Colts needed quarterback Carson Wentz to make plays down the stretch. 

Following some struggles in recent weeks, Wentz stepped up like many before him in the Christmas Day game, delivering down the stretch to lead the Colts to — in his words — a gutsy road win with a number of factors going against them. 

“Big one. Guys talked about it after the game – gutsy win," Wentz said to reporters following the win, according to video via Colts.com "Gutsy win in all three phases. We woke up this morning [Saturday] and found out more guys were sick and missing, tweaking the game plan this morning. The coaches did a great job to put us in the best position to succeed, and obviously, it was an up and down game. But for us to finish the way we did, that was huge.”

This late in the season, with the Colts rolling the way that they are, they are still taking nothing for granted, even in the midst of a stretch where Indianapolis has won seven of their last eight games, thrusting themselves firmly into the AFC playoff spotlight, even vaulting themselves into the conversation of Super Bowl contender. 

© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Wentz, who was a key offseason acquisition brought in to help make a push for the Super Bowl, gave a ton of credit to Colts' General Manager Chris Ballard for the work he's done building the roster that he has, one that had to dig deep towards the bottom of the barrel just to have enough players to suit up on Saturday.

“It’s huge. It’s huge. Especially with the world we live in right now and with Covid and everything going on, depth is huge," Wentz said. "Credit Chris Ballard for putting this roster together that has the depth that it has that we can still go out against a really good team and find a way to get it done.”

Even when the cards (pun intended) are stacked against them, the Colts are finding a way to win. 

Something special is brewing in Indy. 

Have thoughts on how the Colts were able to adjust to late COVID-related changes to beat the Cardinals? Drop a line in the comments section below letting us know how you feel! 

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