Colts' DeForest Buckner has blunt assessment of how last season ended

The Indianapolis Colts famously had two opportunities to clinch a playoff berth in early January but fell to the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars over the season's final two weeks. Specifically, the Colts lost to the lowly Jaguars 26-11 in Week 18, and it's now no secret that defeat played a significant role in owner Jim Irsay wanting to move on from quarterback Carson Wentz after a single campaign. 

Veteran Matt Ryan is the club's new QB1 and will eventually look to remove Wentz's worst performances from the memories of those associated with the Colts. On Tuesday, though, Indianapolis defensive tackle DeForest Buckner found himself discussing what happened in the early days of the calendar year. 

"We s--- the bed last year," Buckner admitted, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I mean, excuse my language, but when it came down to it, we needed that win to get into the playoffs and nobody played well. It wasn’t just one person, it was the entire team. And we shot ourselves in the foot. We looked at all the work we’d put in to get back out of the hole early in the year, playing some really good games, competing with the best of them in the league — and beating the best of them in the league. And it came to the point where we needed that one more win and we didn’t come through.

"It was a terrible feeling. And it lingered for a while. Just coming into this offseason, into OTAs, we mentioned it and we put it in the rearview, and just pressed on and moved forward." 

Buckner added the humbling late-season collapse was "a learning experience" for all involved. One wonders if head coach Frank Reich could find himself on the hot seat if he doesn't prove he learned enough to avoid a repeat performance from his players several months down the road.