Daniel Jones’ torn Achilles leaves free-falling Colts in crisis

Daniel Jones spent the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth dragging the Indianapolis Colts’ discourtesy into uncommon air. Now helium volition beryllium watching the agelong tally from the sideline, his play implicit aft a torn close Achilles successful Sunday’s 36-19 nonaccomplishment to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It’s brutal,” wide receiver Alec Pierce said. “That’s our squad leader, our squad captain.”

A noncontact illness changes everything

On a slick Jacksonville tract precocious successful the archetypal quarter, Jones dropped back, planted awkwardly and went down without contact. He instantly grabbed the backmost of his little close limb and aboriginal slammed his helmet arsenic trainers rushed in. After a speedy cheque successful the aesculapian tent, helium headed for the locker country and was ruled out.

Coach Shane Steichen stopped abbreviated of confirming the diagnosis but did not sugarcoat it. “It could beryllium season-ending,” helium said, adding, “It’s not looking good.”

The stroke lands connected a backmost who was already playing done what was believed to beryllium a hairline fracture successful his near fibula. Even with that achy injury, Jones had started the past 2 games and looked livelier again aboriginal connected Sunday.

“Daniel’s the toughest feline that I’ve ever been around, by far, successful my life,” rookie backup Riley Leonard said.

Rookie pressed into work arsenic Colts slide

Leonard, a sixth-round prime from Notre Dame, was abruptly thrown into his archetypal meaningful NFL snaps. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and leaned heavy connected Jones’ proposal aft the seasoned returned to the sideline. “He’s the astir competitory idiosyncratic that I’ve ever met,” Leonard said. “He was the archetypal 1 to enactment the rainfall cogwheel connected me, the archetypal 1 to inquire maine what I saw connected that play and assistance maine out.”

The nonaccomplishment outgo Indianapolis its pb successful the AFC South and extended its slump to 4 defeats successful 5 games aft a 7-1 start. A brutal closing docket against the Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars and Texans present looms.

“That’ll beryllium the situation this week,” Pierce said. “Refocus. That past, there’s thing we tin do… each we tin bash is absorption connected the adjacent one.” Steichen echoed the urgency: “We’ve got everything we privation inactive successful beforehand of us. We’ve got to go.”