INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Adonai Mitchell stood at his locker in a quiet visiting locker room at SoFi Stadium and took complete responsibility for “losing focus” at the end of a 75-yard reception, turning a dream scenario into a nightmare for the second-year Colts wide receiver.
Instead of answering questions about his first career touchdown, Mitchell was left to answer for a critical moment in the Colts’ 27-20 Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
“Just a play that can’t happen,” Mitchell said. “Just unacceptable. I just gotta be better for the team and for the organization.”
Mitchell, who hauled in a contested catch and slipped away from two Rams defenders on a third-and-four play in the third quarter, bobbled the ball at the one-yard line; it bounced out of the back of the end zone, flipping the Colts from getting a go-ahead touchdown to having to get their defense on the field.
“Just lost focus,” Mitchell re-iterated. “Made a play that can’t happen.”
Colts head coach Shane Steichen reiterated “letters and logos” to his team after running back Jonathan Taylor dropped a fumble shortly before crossing the goal line in what wound up being a Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos last season, telling players to hold on to the ball until their feet were well into the end zone.
“It’s a point of emphasis and I gotta do a better job of emphasizing it more,” Steichen said. “It starts with me.”
Mitchell’s fumble was not the only reason the Colts lost on Sunday, as Steichen and several players pointed out after the game. The Colts took a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Rams snagged two touchdowns sandwiched around a penalty-ridden Colts drive in crunch time.
“Everybody makes mistakes, even the best players,” Pittman said. “I mean, I had 10 targets for five catches for 40 yards. We should be talking about that. I didn’t do anything today either.”
“One play doesn’t define any ballgame,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “We didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Jones threw two interceptions – on the Colts’ first and final drives, respectively – and the Colts were flagged 11 times for 88 yards of penalties. Given the timing of Mitchell’s fumble – with nearly 27 minutes of game clock left – Steichen and his teammates all went up to him after, encouraging him to stay positive and locked into what wound up being a close game.
“I went and talked to him,” Steichen said. “I said ‘Hey, hang in there. Hang in there, we need you, let’s go.’ And obviously he ended up playing the rest of the game.
“I just let him know that one play doesn’t define you, that he’s going to get his opportunity back again,” Pittman said. “Even in that play, you saw flashes of what he’s capable of. Everybody’s going to make mistakes like that.”
“Making sure he knows I’m going to keep coming to him and keep counting on him and just communicate that to him,” Jones said. “He cares a lot about this. He works hard. He’s one of those guys. So just kind of encourage him to play the next play, move forward and that’s the communication there. But like I said, one play doesn’t define the game.”
It wasn’t just the timing of Mitchell’s play that led those on the Colts’ sideline to offer a positive message, though. Zooming out, the Colts still have plenty of faith in Mitchell – a confidence that’s been built on how hard the 2024 second-round pick works and how much he cares, several players said.
“I feel for him,” Jones said. “I know, I know he hurts with that but he’ll bounce back and he’s a hard working guy, he’s in there every day grinding. So we all have a lot of faith in AD, and I’ll continue to have a ton of faith in AD.”
“Even in that play,” Pittman added, “you saw flashes of what he’s capable of.”
Mitchell did play the rest of the game – he was flagged for holding on what could’ve been a 53-yard touchdown run by running back Jonathan Taylor – but while he heard the encouraging words from his coaches and teammates on the Colts’ sideline, he wasn’t ready to digest them after watching his first career touchdown bounce out of the back of the end zone.
“Couldn’t really process it in the moment, I really still can’t process it, to be real,” Mitchell said. “The whole play happened because of me. The only way I’m going to be able to get forward is just growing as a player and a person.”