GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Josh Jacobs and the Green Bay Packers ran all over the Colts until Zaire Franklin made what could've become a game-defining play.

Early in the second quarter, Jacobs carried on a first-and-goal at the Colts' four-yard line, looking to punch in a touchdown that would've given Green Bay a 17-0 lead. Instead, Franklin dislodged the ball from Jacobs' grasp one yard before the goal line, and defensive end Laiatu Latu fell on the fumble in the end zone.

All of a sudden, the Colts – who sputtered on offense and were largely unable to stop the run in the first quarter – had an opening to re-take momentum.

The Colts' offense was unable to capitalize, though, with penalties negating a 16-yard Jonathan Taylor rush and a 15-yard Anthony Richardson completion to Alec Pierce. The ensuing possession ended with a punt.

From that point, the Packers averaged 4.3 yards per play and just 2.4 yards per rush. On their first three drives, Green Bay averaged 6.7 yards per play, boosted by a rushing average of 7.4 yards per attempt.

But the Colts' offense managed two field goal attempts – one of which kicker Matt Gay missed from 50 yards out – before finding the end zone for the first and only time in Week 2 with 1:47 left in the game.

"We want to play complimentary football, right, and get some momentum," head coach Shane Steichen said. "Defense gets a stop and it's like 'Come on, offense, let's go now, it's our turn to go score,' and we didn't get that done today. Bottom line, we didn't do it, and we've got to get that done doing forward, without a doubt."

This doesn't excuse how the Colts started Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Packers, of course. With starting quarterback Jordan Love out, Green Bay successfully deployed a run-heavy gameplan to begin the afternoon. Jacobs rushed 10 times for 81 yards in the first quarter, while wide receiver Jayden Reed ripped off two runs totaling 37 yards. The Packers' rushing success allowed backup quarterback Malik Willis to settle into the game, with a handful of explosive scrambles sprinkled around a 14-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks in the first half.

"We knew they were going to be run-oriented," cornerback Kenny Moore II said. "We knew Malik Willis was going to make a play when his number's called. And we were just unable to make a play out there."

While the Colts' defense allowed three lengthy drives in the first and into the second quarter – the last of which ended with Jacobs' goal-line fumble – the offense went three-and-out on its first three possessions. The slow start, ultimately, ceded control of the game to the Packers, who possessed the ball for 23:05 in the first half.

"We just gotta stay on the field and however which way that we can do that," wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. "That's pretty much been the name of the game is time of possession."

The Colts have now had the ball for 39:19 out of a possible 120 minutes this season, some of which is the product of Week 1's 60- and 54-yard touchdowns, to be fair. But it's also the product of the Colts' offense missing some plays and the defense running into problems on the ground.

"We gotta hit our base plays because we can't always rely on the big shots," Pittman said. "So we just gotta find ways to get completions, positive runs and just stay on the field."

On the run defense, Steichen took responsibility for those issues while saying he "absolutely, 100 percent" has confidence defensive coordinator Gus Bradley can get them fixed.

"We've got to get it fixed," Steichen said. "It starts with myself, I'm the head coach, and we've got to get in that meeting room on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and get it fixed. And that's the bottom line. But I do – I get back again – we got the guys in that locker room to do it. I have no doubts about that. I'm not going to lose any faith in that at all. But we've got to get it fixed."

The larger issue for the Colts, though, goes back to the lack of complementary football they've played over the first two weeks of the season.

Their offense had a good stretch against the Houston Texans in Week 1, but in the second half of that game, the Colts could only trade touchdown drives with their AFC South rivals. When they scored, so did the Texans.

Against the Packers, once the defense settled into the game, the offense wasn't able to get in the end zone until just after the two-minute warning in the second half.

"It's highly frustrating because we know we're a better team than what we're presenting right now," quarterback Anthony Richardson said. "As a whole, we've just got to play better. The defense, they did what they did and we did what we did, but we know we can only do it one day at a time, one play at a time, because you've got to execute regardless of what's happening. Gotta leave the other stuff in the past and just be better each play."

The Colts headed back from Wisconsin believing they're better than their 0-2 record would indicate, but also with the acknowledgment that in the NFL, you are what your record says you are. And while there's plenty of season left, the time is now to take the good things they've done on both sides of the ball and start playing the sort of complementary football that leads to growing leads, not playing catch-up.

"I know this team is better than what we put out there, but the reality of the situation, we are who we put out there, so we're not better than what we put out there," Franklin said. "It's up to us to change that. We have an opportunity on Sunday to prove who we want to be and who we are. So let's take advantage of that."

The Colts, though, aren't engaging in the sort of toxic blame game that can torpedo an entire season. This team believes it has to turn things around in September and play winning football over the next 16 weeks of the regular season. That belief, though, comes with the understanding that it needs to start translating into wins sooner rather than later.

"It's a long season, but you have to run with a purpose, you have to run with urgency at all times," Franklin said. "You don't want to get too high, you don't want to get too low because things change as it goes. But that being said, you don't want to put yourself in too big a hole where you're fighting the whole year to get out. I think we'll do a good job on Sunday to turn that back around."