Margus Hunt's Indianapolis Colts in another narrow defeat
A missed Field Goal cost the Indianapolis Colts, the one and only NFL team with an Estonian player, at least a draw on Sunday as the team suffered another narrow defeat at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, putting their playoff hopes further into doubt.
As has happened quite often in recent games, the Colts opened up the scoreline with a First Quarter Touchdown, only for the hosts to get one of their own, followed by a Field Goal.
The Colts took the lead at the end of the Second Quarter, with two Touchdowns including a run-in interception, and a Field Goal in the dying seconds of the quarter, soon after the Buccaneers had scored a Touchdown of their own, making the score 27-21 to the Colts.
The Colts still held the lead at the end of the Third Quarter, 35-31; their sole Touchdown in that quarter was followed by a two-point conversion.
However, a missed Field Goal, another recent bad habit the team have picked up, followed by a Buccaneers Touchdown meant the score finished 38-35 to Tampa.
The Colts are now 6-7 and third in the AFC South, a division they previously led, behind the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans on 8-5 each.
The Colts, and indeed every other team since the Bye Weeks were done with a few weeks ago, have three more games, all of them against southern teams. They face the on-form New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Monday, Dec. 16, next, followed by their final home game at the Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 22, against the Carolina Panthers, and the season ender at Jacksonville; the Jaguars are currently bottom of the AFC South.
Defensive Tackle Margus Hunt, 32, from Karski-Nuia in South Estonia, started as a field athlete at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, switching to gridiron when SMU cut its athletics program. He was drafted by the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals in the second round in 2013, and traded to the Colts in March 2017. ERR's sports portal recently interviewed him (in Estonian).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte