Doyel: T.Y. Hilton called his shot
- Colts vs. Jaguars in London, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, CBS
INDIANAPOLIS — First he puts on the medallion. It’s a diamond-crusted No. 13, it’s huge, and it’s hanging from a 24-karat gold chain. Then comes the T-shirt, all white except for the blue No. 13 that covers his heart. Now Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton is putting on his socks. They’re long, and they’re blue, and they have images of T.Y. Hilton.
Now he’s ready to show some humility.
T.Y. Hilton tells the media he wasn’t good in the first two games, and he wasn’t blaming anybody but the guy in the mirror, on the medallion, on the T-shirt and on the socks. He was so bad last time out, he tells us, he apologized to his teammates last Sunday in Denver. Told them it wouldn’t happen again. Said the Colts would win their next game. Said he’d be the reason.
And that fast little sonofagun, he called his shot.
T.Y. Hilton is ticked; Phillip Dorsett is ready
This wasn’t Yankees slugger Babe Ruth during the 1932 World Series or Jets quarterback Joe Namath before Super Bowl III — let’s not go overboard; the Colts went into Sunday tied for last in the AFC South — but T.Y. Hilton made a promise this week, first to his team and then to the world. And then he made good on it.
This is what he said Wednesday: “We’re 0-2, and we can’t go down 0-3. I have to make plays. I guarantee I’ll make plays Sunday.”
This is what he did Sunday: Made the game-winning play with 1:17 left, catching a short pass from Andrew Luck and turning it into a tackle-breaking, sprint-making 63-yard touchdown to lift the Colts over the San Diego Chargers 26-22.
“That’s what they pay me for,” said Hilton, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract before the 2015 season.
Until Sunday, he wasn’t giving the Colts their money’s worth this season. Through two games he had 10 catches for 120 yards and no touchdowns. He calls himself “The Ghost” for his ability to hide from opposing defenses, even has a picture of a ghost for his Twitter avatar. He had someone put that same ghost image on the back of his white T-shirt Sunday, the one with the blue No. 13 over the heart.
But 10 catches, 120 yards, no touchdowns in two games? That’s worthy of a more detailed nickname: Casper … the invisible ghost.
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But Hilton got good and angry — good and angry at himself — and took it out on his teammates this week in practice and then on the Chargers secondary at Lucas Oil Stadium. All week long, Hilton was hooting at Colts cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Vontae Davis, at safety Mike Adams. You can’t stop me, he was saying. Nobody can stop me, he was saying. Going to get me a buck this week, he was saying. A buck, as in 100 pennies.
Or in his case, 100 yards.
T.Y. Hilton got a buck on Sunday and added some spare change as well, catching eight passes for 174 yards and that 63-yard touchdown. On the winning play, he beat Pro Bowl cornerback Jason Verrett on a slant, catching the pass just short of midfield. Almost immediately he was hit by safety Dexter McCoil, who at 6-4 and 220 pounds has seven inches and 40 pounds on him. Hilton bounced off McCoil, spun 360 degrees and then took off. He went from second gear to fifth in about three steps.
At the Chargers' 40 he came face to face with San Diego safety Adrian Phillips, but faked right and went left and was gone, outrunning Phillips to the end zone. The final 10 yards was Hilton weaving left and right, looking over his shoulder at Phillips, smiling and screaming into the end zone.
The play was so spectacular in its timing and athleticism, it overshadowed a play that had happened two snaps earlier, a play that saved the game before that 63-yard touchdown won it.
Hilton had made the earlier play as well, getting open on fourth-and-7 from the Colts’ 20, catching an 8-yard pass from Luck with 1:42 left.
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So after the game I was asking Luck if it was a fluke that he went to Hilton on the two biggest plays of the day – the game-saver, and the game-winner – and Luck was telling me: No. It was not a fluke.
“There’s a situational awareness element that goes into it,” Luck said. “Laying it all on the line, I’m probably a little more focused on getting it to T.Y.”
Last week at Denver was mortifying to Hilton. He caught just four passes for 41 yards, then stalked into the locker room and made an apology, and a promise:
“This game’s on me,” he told his teammates after that 34-20 loss to the Broncos. “I feel sorry for the next team we play.”
The next team was San Diego, and after a quiet first half – two catches, 43 yards – Hilton erupted. On the Colts’ first drive of the third quarter, he pulled in the 33-yarder while dragging his toes just in-bounds. Moments later he made another diving, toe-dragging catch for 9 yards to the San Diego 1, leading to Robert Turbin’s 1-yard touchdown plunge and a 20-19 lead.
The Chargers kicked a go-ahead field goal midway through the fourth quarter, then punted to the Colts’ 17 with 2:29 left. Hilton converted on fourth down. Then he scored a touchdown.
Then he was in the locker room, getting dressed for the cameras. A few lockers down is receiver Phillip Dorsett, and he’s staring down at his iPhone, trying to compose a Tweet that will pay homage to Hilton on Twitter.
“Where’s the ghost emoji?” he asks Hilton, who knows exactly how to find the image of a ghost. Dorsett nods and keeps typing on his phone as Hilton starts dressing. He’s humming now, T.Y. Hilton is. I listen closely. It’s the ESPN SportsCenter jingle:
“Da-da-da … da-da-da.”
Someone thinks he’s going to be on national TV.
Someone hasn’t been wrong all week.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar or atfacebook.com/gregg.doyel.
Next up: Colts vs. Jaguars in London, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, CBS