My Thoughts and Reactions to the Game and the Outlook on the Offseason.

The Indianapolis Colts found themselves in a position Saturday night nobody believed they would have been in this past offseason, especially with a season ending injury to Rookie Quarterback, Anthony Richardson. . They hosted the Houston Texans in a win and in game at the LAHD HAHSE(nickname for Lucas Oil Stadium created by Colts legend Pat McAfee on his show The Pat McAfee show). Two teams had close to 0 expectations before the season, found themselves in a battle for a playoff berth in the final week of the season. . 

4th and 1 on Houston’s 15-yard line. Colts QB Gardner Minshew out of the shotgun threw a quick flat route to Colts RB Tyler Goodson and the pass fell incomplete which unofficially ended the Colts season. Goodson was wide open out of the flat and Minshew’s pass was just a bit off target, but certainly catchable. . The play has everyone in the football world scratching their heads because of Goodson being the target on that play instead of star RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor had feasted all night on the Texans defense, but found himself watching from the sidelines. Taylor had 30 rushes for 188 yards and 1 TD to go along with 2 catches for 8 yards. 

My reaction and thoughts to the final play:

With the game on the line and a playoff berth for that matter, I want the ball in the hands of the best playmakers on the field. That is Jonathan Taylor or Michael Pittman Jr. Those two, along with a bunch of other stars on the Colts, have built the foundation of this team and how they go about attacking their opponents every week. Taylor could not be stopped all night, and Pittman could not be stopped all season racking up 109 receptions for 1,152 yards and 4 TDs. Pittman was basically pushed out of the game plan because of Minshew’s horrible day passing, but with the season on the line, give me number 11 or number 28 all day every day. 

With that being said, the play call was perfect. Goodson was wide open and Minshew gave him a bad ball. Yes Goodson dropped the pass, but the pass was still bad. Both can be true in this situation. 

Unfortunately for Minshew and Goodson, this play will be remembered all offseason because it was in the spotlight of the game being on the line. But, there was more than just that failed 4th and 1 play that cost the Colts their season.

Blown Assignments/Coverage:

On the first play of the game for CJ Stroud and the Texans offense, Stroud hit Nico Collins for a 75-yard TD pass that put the Texans up 7-3. There was miscommunication between the Colts two safeties which left JuJu Brents, who was expecting help, alone with Collins who beat Brents for the TD. 

In the 2nd quarter, the Texans had a 3rd and goal at the Colts 1-yard line and Stroud found a wide open Andrew Beck for an easy score. On the play both Kenny Moore and Rodney Thomas covered the flat which left Beck wide open in the back of the endzone. The blown coverage let the Texans get an easy 6 points instead of possibly making a stand and having the Texans settle for a field goal and 3 points.

Inability to stop the Texans only WR:

The Texans were without 3 of their top 4 WRs on Saturday night because of injuries which left Nico Collins as the only starter and focal point for the Texans passing attack. The Colts still could not stop him. Stroud finished with 264 yards passing, 195 of them were to Collins. The Colts have had secondary issues all season but their inability to take Collins out of the game cost them big time.

Game of inches:

Football is a game of inches, everyone knows that. The amount of plays that won’t get talked about because of the failed 4th and 1 is very high. Matt Gay’s 57-yard FG hitting the upright lead to the Texans getting 3 points of their own. A 6 point swing in the Texans favor. Minshew early in the game had Goodson and Mo Alie-Cox both open near the endzone on deep passes and he missed them both. He completes one or both of those passes, we are having a different post game discussion. 

Season Summary:

The Colts finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs for a third straight season. Nobody even thought the Colts would be in the running for the playoffs, even if Anthony Richardson stayed healthy, that right there shows the future is bright for Shane Steichen and the Colts. The season won’t be viewed as a success to many because of the heartbreak at the end, but it truly was a remarkable season for this team.

There were some marquee wins like the OT-thriller in Baltimore and there were some crushing losses as well like last night against Houston and against the Atlanta Falcons. A young team will go through growing pains like that in this league. 

The Colts have a stud at head coach in Steichen and I am super excited for what the future holds with him coaching up Richardson and the rest of the team. Missing the playoffs also means a better draft pick which gives the Colts the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. In an absolutely stacked draft that is huge especially with massive holes in the secondary and at WR. Also to mention the Colts will have about $72 million to spend on free agents. That is 4th most in the league. (First order of business of course is getting Michael Pittman Jr. his bag) 

While everyone feels heartbroken right now, the Colts future is very bright with Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen leading the way #ForTheShoe!

As always Go Colts and let’s get to September already!