The 2019 Indianapolis Colts season was full of reaching the highest of highs and lowest of lows. It was a season that started with a goal of reaching a Super Bowl but ended with missing the playoffs and a high draft pick. What really went wrong this season?

It all started on August 24, 2019 when franchise quarterback abruptly announced he was retiring and walking away from the game of football. In an emotional press conference following 27-17 loss against the Chicago Bears in Week Three of the preseason, Luck announced his retirement stating “It’s been unrelenting. I felt stuck (in a constant state of injury). The only way I see out is no longer to play the game of football. It’s taken my joy for this game away.” As Luck ran off the field for the final time at Lucas Oil Stadium, he was met with boos and fans throwing jerseys at him in anger.

As the news of Luck’s abrupt retirement slowly faded away, the 2019 Colts squad geared up for the season opener on the West Coast against the Los Angeles Chargers. They would return home with a loss after long time kicker Adam Vinatieri did the unthinkable and missed two field goals and an extra point. This is the same guy who came up clutch in two Super Bowls and made numerous kicks in the snow. However, over the next 6 weeks, the Colts would go 5-1 including wins over the Atlanta Falcons, division rivals Tennessee and Houston, and a big Sunday Night win in Kansas City.

In Week 9, everything changed. The Colts traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett suffered a sprained knee in the second quarter and would not return. He would not play the following weekend as the Colts would lose at home to the abysmal Miami Dolphins. Things would continue to get worse from there. Following a win at home against Jacksonville Week 11, the Colts would lose five of their last six games and finishing the season at 7-9 and missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.

The overwhelming question is where did the season go wrong? Sure, losing Andrew Luck was a huge loss just like when the team lost Peyton Manning in 2011 (which ultimately got them Andrew Luck) but the team looked very competitive for the first six or seven weeks of the season. Had Vinatieri not missed kicks in Los Angeles, or a few guys do not miss tackles, the Colts win that game. The same can be said in the Pittsburgh game and the Tampa Bay game in Week 14. The 2019 Indianapolis Colts team had potential and as a result, they could not finish the job down the stretch. Now owner Jim Irsay, GM Chris Ballard, and Frank Reich has many decisions to make because let’s be honest for a minute: this team has most of the pieces to make a Super Bowl run, they just need a few more pieces to complete the puzzle.

Over the next several months, Colts management will have to make many decisions about the future of this team going forward. The team has 12 unrestricted free agents, headlined by offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo. Castonzo had been a huge reason the Colts offensive line has played so well over the last two seasons. Another big free agent is kicker Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri is 47 has been with the Colts since 2006 when he came over from the New England Patriots. In his time in Indianapolis, the future hall of famer has helped the Colts win a Super Bowl as well as become the career leader in every kicking category in the NFL record books. I think this will be the biggest decision the Colts will have to make. The team will also have a projected $96.5 million to spend in free agency once it opens up in March. They also own the 13^th pick the NFL Draft in April.

All of these factors are going to have to be taken into consideration as Irsay, Ballard, and Reich try to figure out what is best for this team and this organization going forward.