The Indianapolis Colts were up 20-9 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and their defense had just recovered a timely Kareem Hunt fumble with 14:48 left in the 4th quarter near their own 17-yard line—thwarting yet another potential KC touchdown scoring drive.
It appeared as though the Colts were poised to deny Patrick Mahomes yet another win versus the Horseshoe—and remain the only NFL franchise that he has yet to beat in his future potentially GOAT career.
Armed with a double-digit lead, the best running
back in football, and around a quarter left boasting a Colts defense that’s theoretically built to defend the pass (with two former All-Pros now at outside cornerback), you’d have to realistically like Indy’s chances against a struggling .500 Chiefs team entering the afternoon.
Yes, the Hall of Fame pairing of Mahomes and all-time great head coach Andy Reid is still plenty dangerous, but prime Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill aren’t coming through that door for Kansas City anymore. The reeling Chiefs were ripe for the picking at Arrowhead late in this one, with the sun beginning to set.
It’s not as though the Colts league-leading offense wouldn’t score again either, until well, they didn’t the rest of the way.
The Colts offense beginning early in that 4th quarter and overtime went three and out on their last four straight possessions, and during that surprising offensive drought, star workhorse Jonathan Taylor only ran the ball one time in regulation (excluding the last drive in overtime, which it should’ve never gotten to that point quite frankly).
Now don’t get me wrong, Chiefs veteran defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo clearly made it a top priority to stop Taylor, who was largely kept in check, rushing for 58 total rushing yards on 16 carries—and he was really only able to break off a 27-yard run with around 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to set up a converted Colts’ 23-yard field goal, which made up a large chunk of that rather pedestrian rushing output.
However, the Colts offense runs through Indianapolis’ bona fide NFL MVP candidate at running back. The Colts run the ball to set up the pass, and everything plays off Taylor and the offensive line’s success up front for what Jones and Co. otherwise do offensively. More often than not, it’s been a recipe for success so far this season.
Not only do you have to run the ball to give your best offensive player touches and keep him within the rhythm and flow of the offense—and force the opposing defensive coordinator to guess and refrain from being one dimensional, but also because we’ve seen time and time again this year, Taylor deliver routine body shots to the opposing defense through repetitive carries over the course of the game—only to finally deliver a TKO blow and break one off late in the game to win the game. He wears teams down, and he only needs a sliver of daylight to take the ball to the house at any given moment with his elite breakaway speed and deliver the ‘back-breaker.’
Plus, you also have a lead late, and you’re trying to burn clock. Did the Atlanta Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, when they abandoned their running game, not teach us anything?
Instead, the Colts inexplicably abandoned the running game in the 4th quarter (despite Taylor breaking one off in the 3rd and the running game finally showing some signs of life) and turned to Jones to solely win the game. The problem was Jones was pressured all afternoon in the passing game, and the Colts passing attack couldn’t muster anything with four straight three and outs when it mattered most late in the game.
It didn’t just mean that the Colts couldn’t even get the field goal that realistically could’ve iced the game in the 4th quarter, but it also tired out their defense, who actually played really well in this one, with two takeaways and largely holding the Chiefs to field goals instead of touchdowns, but were simply on the field entirely too long because of a stalled Indy offense during the 4th quarter and then overtime.
It showed in OT, when the Colts defense that had seemingly bent but not broken all afternoon, finally snapped from fatigue on a 31-yard Mahomes strike to wideout Xavier Worthy that would set up the Chiefs game-winning field goal in extra regulation.
As for Jones, my thoughts about him over the last few weeks remain unchanged.
He can be an elite “game manager,” which seems to have a negative connotation (but not so much in my eyes), with a strong running game, offensive system, and gifted offensive play-caller surrounding him.
From that stance, he reminds me a bit of the Detroit Lions Jared Goff or the San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy in that regard. Not necessarily elite quarterbacks, but pretty good ones, who are capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl if they get hot offensively and when things are going right.
The issue though is can they actually win one?
Jones can run this Colts offense masterfully at times, has shown uncanny accuracy, and efficient progression in his passing reads, but I’ve had questions on whether he can win a big game outright through the air when the opposing defense takes away Jonathan Taylor and the ground game—which was bound to happen at some point down the season’s final stretch run against some of the league’s best defenses.
I mean if you were an opposing defensive coordinator, why wouldn’t you, if you could from a defensive personnel and play-calling stance, and then force Jones to beat you through the air?
On Sunday afternoon, when Steichen turned the reins over to Jones and the passing game, he couldn’t do it.
When the Colts start entering these late season games with AFC opponents who are fighting for playoff spots and/or positioning, much less compete for a deep postseason run, Jones is going to have to make big throws, plays, and carry the Indy offense at times as a starting quarterback for a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
That’s what separates the good starting quarterbacks, who can just effectively run an offense as a game manager, from the really good to even great ones.
Just off the cuff, Peyton Manning had the 32-yard pass to tight end Bryan Fletcher on the game-winning drive in the 2006 AFC Title Game, as well as the 53-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with a Chicago Bears defender draped all over him in Super Bowl XLI, during the first quarter en route to victory.
Former franchise quarterback Andrew Luck arguably had the greatest throw in his entirely too short-lived, yet prolific playing career during the Colts 2015 wild card win hosting the Cincinnati Bengals.
Look, we know that Jones is neither Manning nor Luck, and the hope is that the Colts have enough of a well-rounded roster where he doesn’t necessarily have to be, but he’s going to have to elevate his teammates at times in these big games against better competition late in this year’s season—or to potentially make a deep AFC playoff push.
It’s not just on him though, as Steichen shares in that blame this afternoon with his offensive play-calling. He has to put Jones in a position for better success, and that generally has been with Taylor and the ground game backing him.
Something that Steichen already acknowledged post-game following his team’s tough road loss, but it’s not the first time this has happened to the Colts gifted offensive play-caller. Hopefully, this time he finally learns from it.
