Lamar Jackson ruined the week for the Indianapolis Colts after mounting a massive comeback at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday night, but it didn’t have to be that way. As a matter of fact, the Colts had a hefty 19-point lead in the third quarter and still could keep Jackson from delivering the biggest comeback victory of his career, and for a variety of reasons. The one you’ll hear about more than any other, however, is the poor outing by kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, who sailed a potential game-winning 47-yard kick in a tie game as regulation came to an end — forcing overtime and giving Jackson more time to finish his food.
The Colts never touched the ball again, and there’s also more bad news on the Blankenship front, but it might also explain why he couldn’t find his groove against the Ravens. The second-year kicker is reportedly battling a hip injury, per Mike Wells of ESPN, something he tried desperately to play through in Week 5.
Blankenship had a separate field goal attempt blocked by Calais Campbell and missed a PAT prior to the aforementioned miss, amounting to seven points left on the field by the Colts, in a game they lost by six.
There was evidence early on in the game that something may not have been quite right with the Colts kicker.
Just ahead of halftime, as Carson Wentz and the offense was moving its way into field goal range, Blankenship was seen warming up on the sideline but that’s not who initially ran onto the field to attempt the 42-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the second quarter. It was Rigoberto Sanchez, the team’s punter, who missed but was granted an out when the Ravens jumped offsides during his kick. The Colts would then send Blankenship in for the next attempt — a 37-yarder he sent through the uprights.
Things went rapidly downhill for Blankenship after that point, and as the Colts must now try and work their way out of a 1-4 hole to start the season, they’ll do so with question marks at kicker, unsure of how effective Blankenship can be at the moment.
