Steichen Defends OT Strategy in Colts' 33-30 Loss to Chiefs — SkimNews
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- Shane Steichen defended his late-game playcalling in the Colts' 33-30 overtime loss to the Chiefs, saying back-to-back Jonathan Taylor runs that lost 3 yards were meant to 'finish the game with [Taylor] with the ball in his hands' rather than be conservative.
- Daniel Jones had hit Laquon Treadwell on a 50-yard strike to the Kansas City 17-yard line with 4:50 left in overtime before the run sequence set up a third-and-13.
- Steichen said he was prepared to go for it on fourth-and-8 if Kansas City showed favorable coverage, telling Jones, 'If you love it, man, let's go at it. Let's go win this thing' — but after the Chiefs didn't, the Colts took a delay-of-game penalty and settled for a tying field goal.
- Harrison Butker then drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give Kansas City the win.
- Steichen also addressed his overtime coin-toss decision to defer, saying he preferred knowing what was needed after a Patrick Mahomes possession rather than giving Mahomes 'four downs going the other way.'
- The Colts have surrendered a staggering 1,029 yards in their first two games, a struggle compounded by starting cornerback Charvarius Ward (groin) exiting and All-Pro Sauce Gardner playing through a rib injury.
Why it matters: Steichen's fourth-down calculus was shaped by a Colts defense that has allowed 1,029 yards in two games and lost starting cornerback Charvarius Ward to a groin injury, with Sauce Gardner also playing hurt. Now sitting at 0-2, Indianapolis' head coach faces scrutiny for risk-averse game management in a one-score loss, with the team's defensive personnel issues becoming the explicit justification for settling for a field goal instead of going for the win.
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