The Indianapolis Colts were their worst enemy in Thursday night's 38-24 loss to the New England Patriots.
Quarterback Andrew Luck tossed two interceptions and rookie running back Jordan Wilkins lost a fumble, but the receiving corps certainly didn't help Luck as the Colts moved to 1-4 on the season.
Wide receivers Ryan Grant, Chester Rogers and Zach Pascal, rookie running back Nyheim Hines and tight end Eric Ebron each accounted for a dropped pass, and the issue of not securing the ball carried over from Week 4.
"Obviously, the drops are unacceptable," Colts coach Frank Reich told reporters after the game, via the team's official website. "We have been doing great catching the ball until the last two weeks, so we just got to get that back on track. I mean, we're throwing a lot of passes, you're probably going have one or two -- that happens -- but we just got to get back on track in that regard."
Not having sure-handed wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who was inactive with a hamstring injury, and tight end Jack Doyle, who has missed two games with a hip injury, didn't help the Colts' cause.
But someone within the receiving corps needs to step up as a consistent and reliable target when considering the Colts have attempted a head-turning 121 pass attempts in the past two games. Indianapolis is averaging 53.8 pass attempts in the mistake-filled four losses.
"We're not going to win consistently until we learn how to get out of our own way," Luck said, via the team's website. "That's not taking anything away from New England. I mean, they beat us fair and square.
"That was the better team today and I think anybody who watched it or played in it knows that. That's probably self-evident but I think when we look at ourselves, we're going to have to learn how not to lose before we want to give ourselves a chance to win. And so, it's frustrating, the stuff out there. We're all frustrated, but I don't think anybody's losing the belief."
Meanwhile, Reich doesn't believe there is an underlying reason for the drops that have plagued the offense in the past two games.
For the head coach, it's just a matter of players needing to come through when the ball comes their way.
"I just think we've got to make those plays," Reich said. "It's concentration. The guys we have, I know they have good hands. I mean, I see them every day in practice. We don't have any guys that don't have good hands, they all have good hands, so it's just a matter of concentration."
The Colts have 10 days to fix the issues before playing the New York Jets in Week 6. Extra time spent with the JUGS machine is probably on the menu.
