Week 4 did not go as planned for the Indianapolis Colts as they showed, for the first time, signs of weaknesses within their offense.
For the first time in the young 2025 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts suffered a loss. Now falling to 3-1, the Colts will look ahead to a home game in Week 5 against the Raiders. For today, though, the question remains – what went wrong in Week 4 against the Las Angeles Rams?
Before going into the details, it does need to be pointed out that the Colts are still at the top of AFC South and are still in a good position to make the playoffs. They are also still a good football team with a lot of potential to improve, which is a good thing. For a good team to have room for improvement means that the sky is the limit, and for this team, that definitely rings true. Now, a breakdown of what happened in Week 4.
The Colts Lost the Turnover Battle
In Week 4, the Colts committed their first turnover of the season and it came on the first drive. After a promising start, Daniel Jones threw a bad interception into double coverage. Ultimately, this would set the tone for the rest of the offense’s performance.
The most damning turnover for the Colts was the unfortunate fumble by Adonai Mitchel. This second year wide receiver is still looking for his first NFL touchdown and would’ve had that moment had he just kept his hands on the ball. It’s hard to look at one play and say that is what lost or won the game. However, this play was certainly a big moment in terms of momentum.
The last turnover was another bad interception from Daniel Jones and it was similar to the first. This one essentially sealed the win for the Rams and had the Colts upside down in the turnover battle. They would lose this battle by committing three turnovers and only forcing one on the Rams. In the NFL, it is very difficult to win games if a team cannot create more turnovers than they commit themselves.
The Colts Lost the Penalty Battle
Going into Week 4, the Colts were averaging six penalties per game. On Sunday, they committed 11 penalties , including several costly penalties that hindered drives. This lack of discipline was on display in Week 2 against the Broncos in which they also committed 11 penalties. In that game, they almost lost the game and probably should have, if not for a bad penalty on the Broncos.
The bottom line is that it is almost impossible to win games in the NFL if a team commits 11 penalties and the opposing team only commits seven. The glaring penalty on the day was Adonai Mitchell’s holding call that nullified a go-ahead touchdown run for Jonathan Taylor. However, this one penalty was just one of many bad timed penalties that killed momentum and drives.
The Colts Lost Contain on Puka Nacua
One of the more glaring problems for the Colts on Sunday was their lack of contain on the NFL’s leading receiver, Puka Nacua. He finished the day with 13 catches for 170 and one touchdown. His lone touchdown was a game-tying score on fourth down, which was a sucker punch to just how bad the Colts were able to contain him. In short – the Colts knew that Nacua would get targeted and they still allowed 13 catches. This is absolutely unacceptable, and Xavien Howard had, once again, a terrible performance on defense.
As a whole, the defense played their worst game of the season. They allowed 462 total yards, 24 first downs, and 6.6 yards per play. With this lack of discipline and performance, allowing Nacua to accumulate 170 yards was not shocking. The Colts simply did not have an answer for Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ offense.
Adonai Mitchell Deserves Blame But Not for The Game
Adonai Mitchell had a tough game on Sunday:
1). He fumbled on a go-ahead touchdown in the back of the end-zone which resulted in a touchback
2). He committed a holding penalty which negated a 53-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor.
In short – This was 14 points taken off the board for the Colts. However, there is no way to determine for certain that the Colts defense would’ve held up or whether the Rams would’ve been more aggressive. Blaming Mitchell is a cop out for what transpired. The Colts defense did not show up and the offense, as a whole, was not clicking or anywhere near as smooth as it has been. There is plenty of blame across the board and it all impacted the loss.
The Lucky Colt 
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