Going into their Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts locker room was already in a state of flux just weeks after the controversial decision to bench second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. And after yet another loss on Sunday, Colts star cornerback Kenny Moore II had some choice words toward his teammates after the game.
It was a second straight game of struggles from veteran quarterback Joe Flacco after being named the starter over Richardson, turning the ball over three times in a 30-20 loss that wasn’t even as competitive as the final score indicated.
Individually, Moore certainly did his part, picking off Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the third quarter while the game was still well in reach for the Colts.
Kenny Moore jumps the route to pick it off!
📺: #BUFvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/LWgAXQySD4— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024
However, the turnovers offensively and the Indianapolis defense being unable to slow Buffalo’s running game down led to the Colts losing their third straight game to fall further out of the playoff picture in the AFC.
After the game, Moore didn’t mince word about how he felt his team performed when he sat down with reporters, saying that he believes that there are some players on the team who aren’t “working as hard as possible.”
“I don’t think everybody is working as hard as possible,” said Moore. “And obviously it’s showing. I’m not the type to sugarcoat it. Honestly, I don’t think the urgency is there. I don’t think the details are there. I don’t think the effort is there. And I don’t see everything correlating from meetings to practice to the games and it shows.
“You’ve gotta define yourself. You’ve got to define the identity of the team. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves how bad we want it. And honestly, just turning the page when we look at everything tomorrow. The thing that is frustrating is that you are letting things leak into another week. Whatever it was last week, we’re as great as our last performance. Once you step back on the field again, you’ve got an opportunity to change the narrative.
“To go out and make the same mistakes over and over… That’s what drives me insane as a player, individually, that’s what drives me insane. Because at the beginning of the season, we all said that Week 1 is going to be Week 1. September is going to be September. We have to do our best to be better as the season progresses. We’re already in November and I just want to see us make that jump. I’m seeing the same things. A lot of things, we just need to not beat around the bush. I think that’s where we are lacking. And year to year it’s the same thing.”
Kenny Moore II with some strong comments in the locker room postgame:
“I don’t think everybody is working as hard as possible, and obviously it’s showing.”
“Year to year, it’s the same thing.”#Colts @WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/Kw47Gb61tk
— Dominic Miranda (@DomMirandaTV) November 10, 2024
Moore really hits the nail on the head when he says that this team needs to define itself. Because the change from Richardson to Flacco was largely made due to the narrative that Flacco gave the team the best chance to win this season.
Now, there may be some clear doubts about that narrative being true. And even if it is, is winning even a bigger goal still for this 4-6 Colts team than figuring out what they have in Anthony Richardson?
As the season progresses, we will see where this team’s true goals lie. But clearly, things need to change quickly as far as Kenny Moore II sees it if the Colts want to compete in the second half of the season.
[Dominic Miranda on X, Photo Credit: WHTR-TV in Indianapolis]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.