The clock was ticking for the Colts to franchise one of their players. Each team in the NFL has until March 4th to place their franchise tag. If the Colts can indeed get a deal done with McAfee in the next few days, then it would save the issue of teams shopping around for him, as well as lock up one of the league’s best punters for another few years.

Putting the franchise title on a punter is basically unheard of, but losing McAfee would be more costly for the Colts than some might think. Last season, McAfee put up record-breaking numbers for his franchise. MaCafee had a franchise-best punt yardage average, at over 48 yards per punt. In 2012, he put up 45 kickoffs that resulted in touchbacks, which is also a record for the Colts.

Dec 9 2012, Indianapolis, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) and coach Bruce Arians congratulate each other late in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeated Tennessee 27-23. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Horseshoe Hero

Colts 27 - Titans 23

The Colts recorded their 6th 4th-quarter comeback of the season Sunday afternoon, overtaking the Tennessee Titans for the second time in 2012 at home in Lucas Oil Stadium. Andrew Luck and Co. turned in yet another sloppy 1st half performance only to come out more polished and determined in the second half. Having now moved to 9-4 on the season, the Colts have all but assured themselves a spot in the playoffs. It’s guaranteed, but the odds are in their favor. Their success can be contributed to a true, unified team effort.

Offense

Once again, Andrew Luck struggled in the first half, throwing the ball high, missing some open receivers, and making some poor decisions, including a horrific-looking pick-six right into Will Witherspoon’s chest (The score actually should have been overturned, for Luck was down before he released the ball). The mistakes caused the Colts to fall behind early, and the team walked into the locker room at halftime with a 13-point deficit. But Luck turned the heat on in the final two quarters, making some big plays (Luck seems to play a bold, high-risk/high-reward style of football) and getting his team into scoring contention. In the end, Luck completed 16 of his 34 passes for 196 yards, a touchdown, and 2 INTs.

Part of Luck’s early struggles could be attributed to the O-Line, who struggled against Tennessee’s rush. There were also a myriad of significant offensive injuries. Samson Satele, Winston Justice, Coby Fleener, Delone Carter, and Robert Hughes all left the game at various points throughout the afternoon. By the game’s end, Vick Ballard was the only healthy running back left on the field, but he did a solid job carrying the load, rushing 94 yards on 19 caries. Before Carter left, he contributed the team’s only rushing score of the afternoon on a 1-yard run in the third quarter.

On the receiving end, Reggie Wayne was his usual brilliant self, catching a beautiful touchdown in the first quarter and leading the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (64). A myriad of other receivers got their hands on the ball too. Hilton and Avery had 31 and 50 yards on the day, respectively.

Defense

The defense had trouble stopping the Titans through the air, but they again impressively held running back Chris Johnson to a meager 44 yards on 19 carries. There were also some major playmakers. Both corners player impressively. Vontae Davis probably had his best game as a Colt, and although Cassius Vaughn struggled early, he had a big interception in the third quarter  that he ran back into the end zone for a score. Darius Butler also recorded an interception that led to a Colts field goal.

Special Teams

The special teams kickers were the stars of the game. Once again, Adam Vinatieri‘s field goal was the game winner. He also kicked a 53-yarder in addition to his 2 PATs, making him a perfect 5-5 on the day. His 9 points accounted for 1/3 of the team’s point total.

Pat McAfee kicked an incredible 52-yard punt in the third quarter to the Tennessee 1-yard line. It was a perfect coffin corner kick, and it would eventually set the Colts up for the touchdown-scoring drive that put them back in the game. On the day, his 4 kicks averaged 53.3 yards. Boomstick!

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Next Sunday, the Colts will take on the AFC-leading Houston Texans for the first time this season. The two haven’t seen each other since last year when the then 1-12 Colts beat them in an unforgettable edition of Thursday Night Football. Will the Colts upset their heavily-favored rival? Horseshoe Hero will have the game recap for you after the score is final.

Stay #CHUCKSTRONG, Colts fans!

Colts 21 - Bears 41

The Chicago Bears outplayed the Colts on both sides of the ball Sunday, resulting in a 20-point loss for the Horseshoe in the teams’ first outing of the regular season. Injuries on both offense and defense exposed the Colts’ weaknesses, and the highly-touted young offensive weapons failed to get much momentum going behind a paper-thin offensive line that had Luck under pressure all afternoon. The team will certainly hope for a better showing next week against Minnesota. Nonetheless, there are a few positives to take from the effort. Horseshoe Hero has for you the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Colts’ first loss of 2012.

Defense

Things certainly started out looking like the Colts might get their way. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a Robert Mathis sack of Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler. Then the Horseshoe became the first team to get points on the board after first-year linebacker Jerrell Freeman intercepted a Cutler pass intended for running back Matt Forte and ran it back 4 yards for a touchdown, putting the Colts up 7-0.  From there, things would go downhill.

Already without star linebacker Pat Angerer, the Colts lost Dwight Freeney late in the first quarter to what was initially determined to be an ankle sprain. The defense would go on to yield 428 net yards (114 rushing, 314 passing) to Chicago, who was able to average a 6.1-yard gain per play. More frustrating is that the Colts defense allowed the Bears to dominate the time of possession, 35: 28 to 24:32.

Offense

Unfortunately, Andrew Luck is indeed mortal. Pressured throughout the afternoon, he made several bad decisions and rushed 3 throws that resulted in costly interceptions. However, Luck did throw for over 300 yards – 309 to be exact – and a touchdown, clearly showing signs of greatness. The eeriest part of Luck’s regular season debut was how similarly it compares to Peyton Manning’s debut in 1998. In fact, only 7 yards separate Luck and Manning’s debut stat lines. Manning threw for 302 yards in his very first game, and he too had 1 touchdown pass and 3 interceptions. You just can’t make those kinds of things up.

Veterans Reggie Wayne and Donald Brown led the way for the offense on Sunday afternoon. Wayne was targeted a team-high 16 times and caught a team-high 9 passes for 135 yards. He single-handedly led several drives downfield, proving that he’s still as good as ever 12 years into his career. Wayne has been a staple on the offense for quite some time, but Brown has been a bit less reliable since the Colts drafted him in the first round in 2009. But Brown might finally be emerging as the go-to back he has always been expected to be. He rushed for 48 yards – including a touchdown – on 9 carries. While Brown had difficultly finding holes, most likely a result of an incredibly porous offensive line, when he could get through he was pretty efficient.

Surprisingly, rookie tight end Coby Fleener was Luck’s second-most targeted receiver. He had 10 passes come his way, and he caught 6 of them for 82 yards. Fleener was not targeted much in the preseason, but he and Luck have quite a history, for the two played together at Stanford. They should continue to build upon their chemistry as the season progresses.

While Donnie Avery did drop several key passes, his 4-yard touchdown catch in the 4th quarter got the Colts somewhat back in the game.

Special Teams

The unsung hero of the Colts continues to be punter Pat McAfee. Charismatic and unforgettable off the field (He hosts his own radio show, is a Twitter icon, and hosts the Colts’ weekly interview segment “Facebook Friday.”), many fail to realize McAfee’s impact on the field. McAfee averaged 42.8 yards per punt, including one particular bomb that went 63 yards downfield. McAfee can help the Colts offense dig themselves out of holes on unproductive 3-and-out drives. Adam Vinatieri, meanwhile, uncharacteristically missed his only field goal attempt of the game. I’m not concerned, though. The Pro Bowler did not miss a field goal all preseason, including a 53-yard score through the uprights at Pittsburgh 3 weeks ago.

The Colts have a lot to improve on, but if Luck continues to progress at the same rate as Manning did in 1998, fans will not have to wait long to see some wins.

Check back next week for a recap of the Colts’ second outing – and first home contest – against the Minnesota Vikings. For more Colts news, you can follow me on Twitter at @catierae08. Go Colts!