Chiefs’ comeback only made possible by Colts’ regrettable late moves

AI-assisted summary
• The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in overtime after blowing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.
• Indianapolis’ offense struggled late, with four consecutive three-and-outs in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• The Colts’ defense allowed the Chiefs to have their first 100-yard receiver and rusher of the season.
• Head coach Shane Steichen took responsibility for the team’s late-game offensive inefficiencies.

The Indianapolis Colts had the Kansas City Chiefs on the ropes. 

Instead of delivering a potentially fatal blow to the Chiefs’ season – not to mention securing a boost in their own record and reputation – the Colts blew an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead to Patrick Mahomes and Co. and lost, 23-20, in overtime. 

The Colts’ defense may not have been able to stop Mahomes from feeding Rashee Rice (eight catches, 141 yards, one touchdown) or handing the ball off to Kareem Hunt (30 rushes, 104 yards, touchdown). The offense didn’t help. The unit had four straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“Anytime you have three-and-outs and you’re not moving the ball efficiently, it’s gonna be hard for anyone to win football games” head coach Shane Steichen said. “And we got to be better. I got to be better.”

In the second half, the Colts managed five first downs and were 2-of-7 on third down. They had the ball for all of five minutes and 21 seconds in the fourth quarter – which they began leading 20-9 – and overtime. 

One issue was not jumpstarting the run game led by running back Jonathan Taylor, an MVP contender. Steichen, Indianapolis’ offensive playcaller, didn’t completely abandon the run down the stretch. But five of his last seven runs of the game went for two yards or less, including a third-and-1 in overtime. Taylor averaged 6.0 yards per carry entering this game, but 11 of his 16 attempts went for 2 yards or less. 

The Colts punted after watching Taylor run into a wall one last time. Mahomes went on a six-minute victory march that ended with Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal. 

Rather than leaning on Taylor and the run game, Steichen put his faith in his quarterback. Daniel Jones was 8-for-18 for 83 yards in the second half.

“Tough to have a stretch like that toward the end of the game,” Jones told reporters. 

Of course, the defense is not without blame. The Chiefs had not yet had a 100-yard receiver or rusher this season. They achieved both (Rice and Hunt, respectively) for the first time against the Lou Anarumo-led unit.

“Obviously very frustrating, not up to our standards today,’ Steichen said of the overall effort. ‘We got to be better and that starts with myself.” 

Jones didn’t have much of an explanation for the dropoff from the first half, in which he went 10-for-12 and completed a 48-yard pass to Ashton Dulin. He said nothing from the Chiefs “markedly different” of any second-half adjustments and said they were prepared for it. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo still found ways to send pressure at Jones, as the Chiefs finished with a 40.6% pressure rate and five unblocked pressures, according to ESPN. 

“Sometimes it happens quicker than what you’d expect,” Jones said. “So, gotta be accurate, gotta find a way to make the play work. I gotta do a better job of that.” 

Twenty-seven of Taylor’s 33 yards after halftime came on one play. During the 12 plays of the four consecutive three-and-outs, the Colts gained 18 yards. Taylor had three carries for a total one yard.

There was some consideration going for the fourth downs the Colts faced, Steichen said. He ultimately didn’t want to risk giving the Chiefs good field position. It ended up not mattering. 

Steichen said the offense wasn’t good enough on first-and-10 after having some success in the first half. When it came to bottling up Taylor, he pointed to the Chiefs’ unblocked linebackers making plays.

“There’s a lot of stuff that I wanted to get called that I felt good about in the pass game,” Steichen said. “And we just weren’t efficient doing it. And it starts with me.” 

The Colts (8-3) now lead the Jacksonville Jaguars by one game in the AFC South and missed out on a chance to maintain pace with the AFC-leading New England Patriots (10-2), while the 9-2 Denver Broncos were on a bye. That extra loss will loom large in securing seeding, should the Colts advance to the dance. And there’s plenty of blame to go around for that.