Heading into Sunday’s game on the road against the New York Giants, the Indianapolis Colts were still in the hunt for an AFC playoff berth. The Colts were 7-8 heading into their Week 17 game and a large 7.5-point road favorite over a Giants team that has been rotating quarterbacks this season and had not yet won a game at home all season.
Joe Flacco earned the start over an injured Anthony Richardson, so there was the thought that there could be some Flacco magic to keep Indianapolis in the playoff race heading into Week 18.
None of that happened as the Colts lost to the Giants, 45-33, with Flacco being bested by Giants quarterback Drew Lock. Flacco had two touchdowns and two interceptions whereas Lock had four touchdown passes and didn’t turn the ball over — and just like that, the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs.
Pat McAfee Unleashes a Long Rant on Colts’ Loss
The Colts will now have a playoff drought of four straight years. Former punter Pat McAfee let his feelings be known very clearly about this Colts team who just lost to arguably the worst team in the NFL by double digits.
McAfee points out a lot in his rant about how some people wanted to run him out of town for saying what he felt was obvious — this Colts team had plenty of glaring issues.
This team has made many mistakes this year, including giving up a huge 100-yard kickoff return in the loss to the Giants. The way the game and playoff chances ended is what McAfee predicted would happen, saying that Indianapolis is an undisciplined team.
I’ve said what I believed to be the truth about the team.. & a bunch of “Colts fans” on the internet were trying to get me booed out of the city..
Current players, who have won nothing during their entire tenures, started using me and my face to try and paint me as the enemy in… https://t.co/qCWb7SL1l8
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 30, 2024
“In the biggest moments everybody with a brain knew they’d crack and they did,” McAfee posted online. “A blind person could see the red flags on this team.”
“Work ethic questions, NEVER happens on good teams. Preparation commitment questions, NEVER happens on good teams,” the rant continued. “Late to meetings NEVER happens on good teams. Late to/skipping treatment, NEVER happens on good teams.”
Anthony Richardson Earns Blame
Saying that the Colts were not a cohesive team was just the beginning of his rant. McAfee went on to blame second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson for pulling himself out of the game because he was “tired” earlier in the season, which led to his midseason benching.
“The franchise QB tapped out of a game on third down in the red zone, because he was tired,” continued McAfee. “NEVER HAPPENED in the history of the NFL.”
McAfee felt that fans would understand that this team would have no chance if Richardson were still the guy. Flacco seemed like a more logical choice to lead this Colts team.
“When I said Joe Flacco gives us a better chance to win than AR immediately after the tap out. I would’ve said whatever backup QB we had on the roster,” he added. “That can’t be what the face of your team is doing.
“Just can’t be, and to a bigger aspect of it all, somehow AR thought it was OK to do that. That’s a locker room issue, that’s a culture issue, that’s an indicator of a loser attitude radiating through a building that was built by greats.”
McAfee, who still lives and hosts his popular broadcast “The Pat McAfee Show” in Indianapolis, says he will not be renewing his season tickets.
McAfee ends his long diatribe by saying he doesn’t know the answer to fixing this team. He sees a lot of talent on this roster, which adds to some of the confusion as to why the Colts are underachieving.
McAfee hopes that his former club can figure things out and have a Colts team the city of Indianapolis can be proud of.