Why the Colts deserved to lose on Saturday Night

The game of football is built on winners and losers, as there are no moral victories. Troy Aikman & Joe Buck appear to have forgotten about this fact, as they repeatedly indicated during the broadcast that it sucks that both teams couldn’t win the game. I’m here to dispel that notion, as there are several reasons why the Colts deserved to lose the game, along with several reasons why the Texans deserved to win the game. My primary focus will be on analysis of the Colts though, so let’s dive right into that.

Defensive game plan was suspect

Facing off against the red-hot CJ Stroud, the defensive gameplan for the Colts should’ve been centered on stopping the Texans explosive passing game at all costs. Instead, the Colts’ defensive gameplan was centered on stopping the run, and they were successful in holding the Texans to 2.14 yards per carry on their 28 attempts. The problem for the Colts is that their defense forced only 6 incompletions from CJ Stroud as they allowed him to throw for 264 yards and 2 TDs in the Texans victory. Their defense also allowed WR Nico Collins to haul in 9 passes for 195 yards & 1 TD. Letting the other team’s best players make big plays is how you lose football games.

Gardner Minshew inaccuracy

Gardner Minshew played his worst game of the season at a very inopportune time. He completed just 13 of 24 passes (54%) for 141 scoreless yards in their 23-19 loss. Minshew repeatedly overthrew his receivers on potential chunk plays all night long. On a night when the team ran for 227 yards on 6.13 yards per carry, the Colts’ passing offense was inexplicably anemic, and so much so that it cost them the game. Head coach Shane Steichen admitted as much after failing to convert a 4th down play to end the game, telling Minshew from the sideline, “that’s on you, we had it.”

The 4th down playcall and result

Speaking of that dreadful 4th down play, what an awful sequence of events that was. Let’s set the scene here, as the Colts had the ball on the Texans’ 15- yard line with 2 timeouts and 1:06 left in the game, facing a decisive 4th & 1 opportunity on offense. The playcall (and the football) should have gone to red-hot RB Jonathan Taylor, as he had rushed for 188 yards and a touchdown on 6.26 yards per carry in the game. I’ve also previously highlighted Minshew’s struggles in throwing the football here.

Instead, the Colts inexplicably decided to take Taylor off the field for this pivotal play in the game and subbed in third-string RB Tyler Goodson as his replacement. Even if Taylor wasn’t going to get the ball on the play, he still should’ve been on the field so that the defense had to respect the threat of him making another big play. With the game on the line, Steichen decided to draw up a passing play for Goodson.

The results of the play speak for themselves, as Goodson inexplicably dropped a slightly underthrown 1-yard pass from Minshew to lose the game for the Colts. Putting backup players in unadvantageous situations in crucial moments within the game is the very reason behind why it is that you deserve to lose the football game.