Daniel Jones’ season has come to an abrupt finish after the Indianapolis Colts quarterback suffered a torn Achilles throughout Sunday’s 36-19 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The setback is a significant blow for a Colts crew that had surged to a record-breaking offensive tempo via the primary half of the marketing campaign however is now fading, with a rookie backup quarterback and a troublesome run of video games forward.
Alec Pierce described the second as devastating for the locker room. “That’s our crew chief, our crew captain,” the huge receiver stated. “It’s brutal.”
Jones went down late within the opening quarter after dropping again to cross on a rain-soaked subject. He appeared to plant awkwardly earlier than collapsing and clutching the again of his decrease proper leg.
Visibly annoyed, he slammed his helmet to the bottom as trainers rushed to him. After being examined within the medical tent, he headed to the locker room and was rapidly dominated out.
Colts coach Shane Steichen didn’t formally affirm the prognosis however made clear the crew feared the worst. “It could possibly be season-ending,” he stated. When requested to make clear, Steichen added, “It’s not trying good.”
Jones had already been enjoying via what was believed to be a hairline fracture in his left fibula. Regardless of the ache and restricted mobility in latest weeks, he had continued to start out and confirmed higher motion early on in Jacksonville.
Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard changed Jones, finishing 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards in his first significant NFL motion. He praised Jones for returning to the sideline after the damage to help him.
“Daniel’s the hardest man that I’ve ever been round, by far, in my life,” Leonard stated. He additionally highlighted Jones’ presence in the course of the recreation.
“He’s probably the most aggressive individual that I’ve ever met,” Leonard added. “So, it’s no shock that he got here again on the market. He was the primary one to place the rain gear on me, the primary one to ask me what I noticed on that play and assist me out. It’s simply precisely who he’s, whether or not he’s enjoying or not.”
The loss dropped Indianapolis out of the AFC South lead, with Jacksonville shifting into first place. The Colts, who began the season 7-1, have now misplaced 4 of their previous 5 and face a tricky remaining schedule: at Seattle, then house video games in opposition to San Francisco and Jacksonville, earlier than ending at Houston. Their playoff place additionally stays in danger based mostly on different Week 14 outcomes.
Pierce stated the crew should rapidly regroup. “That’ll be the problem this week. Refocus. That previous, there’s nothing we will do. We knew the magnitude of this recreation. We would have liked to win this one. However all we will do is deal with the following one.”
Steichen echoed the sentiment. “We’ve obtained all the things we wish nonetheless in entrance of us. We’ve obtained to go,” he stated. “So, we’ve obtained to get this factor cleaned up and prepare for Seattle. We’ve obtained an enormous one on the street. That’s the message at this time.”
