Colts to blame for loss to Buccaneers, referees not

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The Indianapolis Colts suffered a tough loss in Week 12 and they should take most of the blame.

After a happy week in which the Indianapolis Colts upset the Buffalo Bills, they suffered a devastating loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What made the loss so difficult was that the Colts could have won, instead they fell 38-31.

In such a close game, there’s a lot of temptation to point out specific people or games and say, “That’s why this team lost. A common culprit among the Colts Nation after that game was Sunday’s competition officials squad.

This is understandable. The umpires have had a number of questionable calls, but that’s not why Indianapolis lost Sunday’s game… the Colts are. Bad umpires and all, Indianapolis made its fair share of mistakes, and those self-inflicted injuries are the number one reason the team didn’t win against the Buccaneers.

Colts fans shouldn’t blame referees for Bucs loss

The best time fans yelled at the refs through their TV screens was when Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr passed Michael Pittman Jr. to intercept Carson Wentz. Many felt that Winfield had made illegal contact prior to the interception and that should have canceled the game… and they are right.

There seemed to have been some contact, and flags were certainly thrown for less, so the outrage is understood… especially as the missed call led to Tampa Bay’s first lead in the second half.

As unfortunate as this streak is, the Colts did not play clear enough to blame the officials. The offensive series before this one, Indianapolis led 24-14 and led before Wentz was sacked. The Buccaneers offense got the ball on its own 35-yard line and pushed 65 yards in six plays for a touchdown.

A few possessions later, losing just 28-24 early in the fourth quarter, the Indianapolis defense forced the Bucs to a three-and-out. Instead of the Colts’ offense getting the ball, Nyheim Hines missed the catch, giving Tampa Bay a three-point lead.

Even going down 31-24, the Indianapolis offense was still able to put together a brilliant 75-yard, six-minute, 10-game touchdown to tie the game at 31 with three and a half minutes to go. So despite everything that happened, the Colts’ blunders and referee errors included, the game still didn’t belong to anyone.

With the game in play, the Tampa Bay offense ran for 75 yards in eight plays and three minutes to score the winning touchdown. There was not a single penalty imposed on Indianapolis during this trip. It was just the Colts’ defense marching on the field.

All of this to say that the referees probably had a horrible game – they’ve been bad all season – but no group is more responsible for the outcome of Sunday’s game than the Colts. They had a number of costly turnovers, not to mention Winfield’s interception, and the defense couldn’t stop the Buccaneers’ offense.

So don’t hesitate to criticize the refereeing, it’s deserved, but don’t blame them for the Colts’ fault.

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