Insider: Colts' offense falters against Chiefs in 31-13 playoff loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The hold the Indianapolis Colts have had on the Kansas City Chiefs historically wasn’t enough to keep a magical season going against the class of the AFC.

This time, there was no comeback.

Hamstrung by an offense that never got going against a defense that had been one of the worst in the NFL this season, the Colts came up short in a 31-13 loss at Arrowhead, the first time the Chiefs have been able to beat Indianapolis in the playoffs in five tries.

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More:Chiefs add salt to the wound late, lead Colts 31-13

1. The remade Colts offensive line failed to live up to its billing.

Indianapolis was supposed to be built for games like this, a playoff game in the cold and the snow and the muck and the mire against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.

An offensive line that added a trio of nasty, bruising power players in Quenton Nelson, Mark Glowinski and Braden Smith clicked at midseason, keeping Andrew Luck clean and bullying teams on the ground.

Kansas City overpowered the Indianapolis starting five from start to finish.

A defense that was second-to-last in the NFL in average yards-per-carry allowed never let Colts running back Marlon Mack get going, and it was because the offensive line failed to give Mack opportunities. Mack was given seven carries in the first three quarters; Chiefs defenders came free in the backfield on three of those carries, and the Colts were flagged for holding on another.

This was the same line configuration that had produced 158.7 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards-per-carry.

The Colts’ front five wasn’t much better in the passing game. Up until Saturday’s game, Indianapolis’ preferred starting five hadn’t allowed a sack in the six games they’d played together; Kansas City beat the Colts for three sacks and got consistent pressure on Luck throughout the night, hampering the offense.

2. Andrew Luck faltered in his matchup with Patrick Mahomes.

The matchup of Luck and Mahomes was supposed to be a classic battle between two of the game’s hottest quarterbacks, a pair of passers who combined for 89 touchdowns during the regular season.

But Luck wasn’t able to hold up his end of the bargain.

Under consistent pressure from the pass rush for the first time since the Giants game and working with a No. 1 receiver who was clearly limited in T.Y. Hilton, Luck was far from the efficient, accurate quarterback he’d been down the stretch.

Hilton got free for a 29-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, but for most of the game, it was clear that the cold, wet grass of Arrowhead Stadium had adversely affected Hilton’s ankle. Luck kept going to him but the veteran receiver couldn’t get the separation he’d been able to get on turf.

Luck made a few plays, but for the most part, he was unable to buy the kind of time he’d been creating in the pocket down the stretch, and he was inaccurate early as the Colts punted on four consecutive possessions.

As good as Luck’s been during his career, he has struggled on the road during the playoffs, and he couldn’t handle Kansas City’s pressure on Saturday night.

3.  As bad as it looked early, the Indianapolis defense gave the offense chances in the second half.

For most of the first half, the Colts were flummoxed by Kansas City’s high-powered offense, unable to keep tabs on either Tyreek Hill (9 touches, 108 yards, 1 TD) or Travis Kelce (7 catches, 108 yards) as the Chiefs moved the ball up and down the field, and the final numbers weren’t good.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 278 yards and Damien Williams rushed for 129, becoming the first back all season to break the 100-yard barrier against the Colts.

But the Indianapolis defense that has been so surprising this season gave its offense plenty of chances to get back in the game after the half.

The Colts sacked Mahomes four times, Darius Leonard forced a key fumble deep in Kansas City territory that the offense failed to convert because of strip-sack on Luck, and until the Chiefs sealed the game with a long drive at the end of the fourth quarter, the Colts had gotten stops on five consecutive drives in the second half.

Plenty enough stops to give the offense chances to get back in the game.