Colts’ season on life support after Sauce Gardner injury

The Indianapolis Colts made a rare win-now move when they decided to trade for Sauce Gardner. Trading two first-round picks for him was a steep price, but it was one that they were willing to pay for an elite cornerback.

That trade signaled that Indianapolis believed it had a real shot to win the Super Bowl. It also signaled a belief in Daniel Jones as the quarterback of the future, as they gave away the two best assets they had to acquire a QB.

With Gardner now suffering a calf injury that will keep him out for some time, the Colts are in a bad situation. They just lost their best member of the secondary, and he has only played three games for the franchise. Without him, the season and the near future are on life support.

The Indianapolis Colts need to get back to winning ways

In order for this trade not to be an abject failure, the Colts have to start winning games again. Over the last few weeks, Jones has regressed. His fibula injury seems to be affecting his ability to move around in the pocket, making it harder for him to escape pressure.

In the last two weeks, the Colts have been just 8-of-23 on third-down conversions.

Right now, the Colts have fallen to the sixth seed in the AFC. Just three weeks ago, they were the top seed in the conference. They have two games remaining against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are now at the top of the AFC South.

Winning those two games is an absolute must if they want to have a shot at winning the division and likely making the playoffs altogether. Indy has the sixth-worst pass defense in the NFL.

The secondary was fully healthy for the first time last week. Now, they are 0-2 since the team has been able to have everyone available at cornerback. 

The offense has to be better to cover for a compromised secondary. In the first eight games, the Colts scored over 20 points in seven of those games. In the last four weeks, they have scored over 20 points just once, and they needed overtime to do it. That won't get it done if they want to make the playoffs.