Colts suffer opener loss to Seahawks

There was plenty of hype and anticipation for the Indianapolis Colts home opener on Sunday, but things unraveled pretty quickly.

The Colts were trailing 7-3 after the first quarter and were down by a score of 21-10 heading into the locker room at halftime.

With the loss on Sunday, the Colts have now lost eight straight season openers, including a stunning loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars a season ago. It wasn’t a miserable performance for the Colts, but it was a game in which they looked to be clearly overmatched.

Carson Wentz Colts Debut

Carson Wentz was on the field for his Colts debut on Sunday as he was able to quickly make his way back from foot surgery. Wentz tossed his first touchdown pass as a member of the Colts in the second period, but there wasn’t much else to celebrate in this game.

For the game, Wentz was 25-of-38 for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The biggest problem for the Colts on Sunday was a poor performance from the offensive line as they allowed the Seahawks defense to harass and pressure Wentz all game long.

Head coach Frank Reich was once again his aggressive self in the season opener, going for it on fourth down on two different occasions deep in Seahawks territory. A conversion in either one of those situations might have affected the outcome, but the Colts came up a little bit short each time.

The defense of the Colts settled down in the second half of the game, allowing just one touchdown in the loss. That wasn’t the case in the first two quarters as Russell Wilson had his way with the Colts.

This was going to be a tough stretch for the Colts to begin the season, but they needed to protect home field in order to stay in the playoff race. The only saving grace from Week 1 is that the Tennessee Titans also suffered a loss at home.

Hines Agrees to Extension

Just days before the start of the 2021 season opener, the Colts announced that they had agreed to a contract extension with running back Nyheim Hines. The new deal now keeps Hines in Indianapolis through the 2024 season, and gives the Colts plenty of depth at one of the most important positions in football.

Hines will now be making an average of $6.2 million per season, which will put him inside of the top-10 for highest-paid running backs in the NFL. This is also the richest deal for any running back that is not the starter on his team.

The Colts use Hines more as a pass-catcher than a running back, and he has racked up 170 catches during his time in the NFL. Hines is also the punt returner for the Colts, and he has an average of nearly 15 yards per punt return.

Indianapolis has been busy reaching deals with members of the 2018 draft class as the Colts have also reached deals with Darius Leonard and Braden Smith.

For more sports news and updates on legal sports betting in Indiana, check out more stories on our blog.

Relevant news