AD Mitchell’s miscues, Colts’ mistakes played major role in loss to Rams

INDIANAPOLIS – It was a typical NFL game, this one involving 154 plays.

“One play doesn’t define any ballgame,’’ insisted Daniel Jones Sunday evening at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Ca.

But a few of those plays were more consequential than others and were unquestionably defining as Jones his Indianapolis Colts saw their 3-0 start interrupted by a 27-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Two involved second-year wide receiver AD Mitchell that cost the Colts two touchdowns.

You can do the math.

“Just try to move forward and learn from previous mistakes and get better,’’ Mitchell told the media after the game.

The mistakes were absolute killers: Losing control of the football before crossing the goal line on a 76-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter and a holding penalty that negated Jonathan Taylor’s 53-yard touchdown run that would have given the Colts a 27-20 lead with 2-plus minutes remaining.

“I just gotta be better for the team, for the organization,’’ Mitchell said.

On the Colts’ first possession of the third quarter, Mitchell made an impressive, contested catch on the left side against cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., spun to the sideline and outran Forbes and safety Kam Curl. But as he approached the goal line for what would have been a 76-yard touchdown and a 17-13 lead, Mitchell lost control of the football as he shifted it from his left hand to his right.

The touchdown turned into a touchback.

“It was a matter of losing focus and just a play that can’t happen,’’ Mitchell said. “Just unacceptable.

“Just lost focus. Made a play that can’t happen.’’

Nine months ago in a loss at Denver, running back Jonathan Taylor similarly lost control of the football at the goal line, costing the Colts a TD.

The next week, coach Shane Steichen emphasized to players the need to run through “the letters and logos’’ in the end zone.

“Letters and logos,’’ Mitchell said. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.’’

“It’s hard to explain in that situation,’’ Steichen said. “. . . I’ve got to do a better job of emphasizing that. It starts with me.’’

That’s a case of a head coach covering for a player.

Then, with the score tied at 20-all and 2:25 remaining, Taylor had another one of his Taylor-esque runs – find a seam, cut to avoid a tackle, run through another, acceleration – for what would have been a 53-yard TD. But Mitchell was penalized for holding on the perimeter.

“Just trying to make a play,’’ he said.

The drive would stall and the Colts would punt.

Two plays, two TDs wiped off the board in a game pitting a pair of playoff-caliber teams.

The broadcast captured Mitchell’s frustration/anger. At one point, he slammed his helmet on the ground.

“A tough play for sure after such a tremendous effort,’’ Jones said of Mitchell fumbling at the goal line. “Just lost the ball there at the end. I feel for him.

“I know he hurts with that. But he’ll bounce back. We all have a lot of faith in AD and I’ll continue to have a ton of faith in AD.’’

Jones and Steichen, along with a good portion of the team, approached Mitchell after the fumble.

“Yeah, I went to him and talked to him,’’ Steichen said. “I said, ‘Hey, hang in there. Hang in there, we need you. Let’s go.’’’

Mitchell saw more playing time against the Rams because Alec Pierce missed the game with a concussion.

It’s been a difficult NFL indoctrination for the Colts’ 2024 second-round pick.

As a rookie, Mitchell set a franchise record-low by catching just 41.8% of his targets. He also was part of a throw-back pass at Denver that him throw across the field only to have Nik Bonitto return the fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.

“We’ve got a lot of faith in AD and this is a bump in the road for him and he’s going to bounce back,’’ Steichen said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in his abilities.’’

Mitchell’s mistakes were glaring and game-changing, but there were plenty other instances – a few other plays – that knocked the Colts from the ranks of the unbeaten.

After Taylor’s 53-yard TD was negated, Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt pinned Matthew Stafford at his own 12 with 1 minute, 44 seconds remaining. He needed just one play and 11 seconds to give the Rams a 27-20 lead.

On the first play, Tutu Atwell got loose for an 88-yard TD. He lined up to the left, inside of Puka Nacua. At the snap, Atwell cut outside and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon stumbled over his own feet, leaving Atwell running free.

As it turned out, the Colts had only 10 players on the field.

“You get off the field after and you ask like, ‘Hey, what happened?’’’ said safety Cam Bynum. “They tell you what went wrong, but obviously that’s something that just can’t happen from top to bottom, us as players . . . but also for coaching. We’re all one team.’’

Also, the Colts, who had been penalized 19 times in the first three games, were flagged 11 times for 88 yards. Along with Mitchell’s holding call, another killer was an interference penalty against Tyler Warren early in the fourth quarter with the Colts leading 17-13.

It came on the first play after the defense gave Indy possession at the Rams’ 17; Mike Hilton blitzed and forced a Kyren Williams fumble that Adetomiwa Adebawore recovered.

Jones hit Warren for a 12-yard gain and a first-and-goal at the 5, but the rookie tight end was penalized for interference. Four plays later, Spencer Shrader’s 38-yard field goal pushed the Colts in front 20-13 with nearly 9 minutes remaining.

“One play doesn’t define any ballgame,’’ reiterated Jones. “We didn’t do enough to win the game.’’

That includes keeping track of the Rams’ most dangerous skill player: Nacua.

The 2023 fifth-round pick finished with 13 catches for 170 yards and the game-tying 9-yard TD with 3:20 remaining on 15 targets. In the Rams’ 29-23 overtime win in Indy in 2023, Nacua piled up 163 yards and the game-winning touchdown catch on nine catches.

Often, Nacua beat veteran corner Xavien Howard, including on the TD. Charvarius Ward, Indy’s $60 million corner, generally was assigned Davante Adams.

“He’s been a helluva player in this league for a long time,’’ Steichen said of Howard. “But obviously we’ll go back and look at the tape . . . it starts with me.’’

More from Warren

Steichen continues to find ways to tap into Warren’s diverse skillset.

The rookie first-round pick shared the team lead with five catches for a team-high 70 yards. He also was used in the backfield.

On third-and-2 at the Rams 3 in the second quarter, Warren lined up in the wildcat but was stopped after a 1-yard gain. On fourth-and-1, he lined up at fullback, took a handoff from Jones, ran behind tight end Drew Ogletree and notched his first NFL TD on a 2-yard run. Warren got final assistance from Mo Alie-Cox, who helped pull him into the end zone.

Warren joined Alvin Reed as the only tight ends in NFL history with at least 70 receiving yards in three of his first four career games.

What about Jones?

After three “clean games,’’ Jones and the Colts suffered their first three turnovers of the season.

There was Mitchell’s lost fumble at the goal line, and two Jones interceptions. The first came on the game’s fourth play when he underthrew Mitchell, allowing Curl to snare his first career interception. The second came 1 minute remaining and Jones looking for Michael Pittman Jr. to the left. Curl came up with his second career interception.

For the game, Jones completed 24-of-33 passes for 262 yards, including a 2-yard TD to Pittman. He was under duress much of the game as the Rams sacked him twice and hit him another five times.

Jones has thrown for at least 220 yards in all four games this season. It’s the first time since 2015 the Colts have done that in each of their first four games.

You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.