Curt Cavin

curt.cavin@indystar.com

At the quieter end of the Indianapolis Colts' locker room, Griff Whalen fielded questions after Sunday's game better than he had punts in it.

The afternoon might have been personally difficult, but the team's win limited his frustration.

"Kind of a learning experience for me, I think, but most important is getting the win," he said.

Whalen wasn't his usual sure-handed self in the 20-13 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium. With the roof open in the first half, he misplayed a Baltimore punt that bounced past him for an additional 30 yards. Later, he fumbled on a punt return.

However, Whalen wasn't the only returner struggling. Baltimore's Jacoby Jones had a punt bounce off him, and the Colts' Colt Anderson recovered.

"Both are probably catchable balls," Whalen said.

Whalen tried to delve into the tricky aerodynamics of a stadium with an open roof, but he stopped short to avoid making an excuse. It took little prompting from Colts kickers Pat McAfee and Adam Vinatieri to say the returners were disadvantaged by the swirling wind.

"We literally have one of the windiest stadiums in the league, so we knew it was going to be an issue if we could hang (the ball) up in the air," McAfee said. "Who knows what's going to happen?

"Jacoby and Griff are two of the most sure-handed guys in the NFL, (but) sometimes you get unlucky back there."

Whalen said Sam Koch's low-punted ball died in the wind, but he called it "more of a misjudgment." It became a 69-yard hit and run.

Vinatieri felt for Whalen.

"If it's a tight spiral, that's one thing (to handle)," he said. "But if you get some of those end-over-end (punts); these guys are getting so good at hitting these crazy, knuckleball kicks.

"They're hard enough to catch without any wind and then it carries a little further or shorter than they expect."

Game officials called for a closed roof in the second half as rain approached.

Whalen's fumble at the Colts' 15 early in the fourth quarter was more of an unfortunate timing of the whistle. His forward progress had been stopped by Jeromy Miles, but the Ravens kept poking until the ball came loose just prior to ground contact.

Whalen thought his right elbow was on the ground before the fumble, but the replay official confirmed the call on the field. Albert McClellan recovered, leading to Baltimore's 27-yard field goal.

"It doesn't really matter now," Whalen said of the turnover. "But yes, to answer your question, I thought I was down."

Whalen finished with seven yards on three punt returns, which is below 6.3-yard average. But as he said, it doesn't matter now. The Colts are 3-2.

Follow Curt Cavin on Twitter at @curtcavin.