Indianapolis Colts Football

COMEBACK WINS KEPT THINGS INTERESTING FOR PAGANO

While the Colts were busy rattling off a 9-3 record without Chuck Pagano, they made sure to keep their head coach on the edge of his seat.

Of the nine wins, eight of those were decided by less than seven points with numerous fourth quarter comebacks involved in the victories.

“They’ve done that all season long. From the time that I was diagnosed and left, I’ve been watching this team fight and fight and fight,” Pagano said on his season-ending radio show.

“The first one down 21-3 to Green Bay and comeback to win that football game just kind of propelled this team into having the season that they had.”

Whether it was Andrew Luck leading final minute drives, the defense coming up with critical turnovers or the special teams winning the field positioning battle, Pagano was in awe of how his team continually executed throughout the entire 60 minutes.

“This team has no quit in it. They love football. They love playing. They believe,” Pagano said. “It’s a testament to their character, what they’re made of, how they represented the horseshoe of this organization and their name.”

In turning in an 11-5 record, the Colts became the only team in the AFC to not lose consecutive games all season long.

Pagano’s physical presence might not have been at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center but the message that he established during the offseason paved the way for a nine-win turnaround.

“We set a foundation from day one that we were going to stick with the process,” Pagano said.

“I know we beat that to death but that’s what you have to do in this league. You have to stick to the process and regardless of what happens on Sunday. You take a look at the film on Monday, you evaluate it, you make the corrections and then you move on. Nobody did it better than these Colts this year.”