KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts had the Kansas City Chiefs on the ropes — both their game Sunday and potentially their season — until late in the matchup, when some odd play-calling and poor
execution by the NFL's top-ranked offense let them down.
The Colts went three-and-out on their final four possessions, spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of overtime. The last of them proved to be decisive, allowing Patrick Mahomes to march Kansas City downfield for the winning field goal.
Harrison Butker knocked it through from 27 yards for a 23-20 victory.
It was a strange turn of events for the Colts, who had played so well in building a 20-9 lead over the reigning AFC champs.
They went almost entirely away from running back Jonathan Taylor, who is in the midst of one of the best seasons in franchise history, and placed the game instead in the hands of Daniel Jones, who seemed unable to handle the pressure inside Arrowhead Stadium.
Jones finished with a season-low 181 yards and two touchdowns. He was just 8 of 18 for 83 yards in the second half.
“We just didn’t execute today at the level we usually do,” said Michael Pittman, who had one of the Colts’ two touchdowns. “We put our defense out there a ton. They were probably on the field for 40-plus minutes and we can’t do that. They held strong and played great. On offense, we’ve got to pick it up. They had a good plan for us.”
As for Taylor, he carried just 16 times for 58 yards, his second-lowest output of the season. Only three carries came over their final four possessions, netting a single yard — including a 2-yard loss on third-and-1 in overtime that forced Indianapolis to punt.
“He's a great player. One of Wisconsin’s finest,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “He's a heck of a football player. Our guys did a nice job of wrapping him up. He's had quite a few of those this season, and this game — yards after contact. You have to focus on wrapping him up and getting him on the ground, and I thought our guys did that, and did it well.”
It was a dramatic turn from Taylor's previous game, when he led the Colts to an overtime win over the Falcons. Taylor ran for 244 yards, set a franchise record with 286 yards from scrimmage, and reached the end zone three times in that game in Berlin.
Sunday's game was a dramatic letdown for a team whose lead in the AFC South became just a bit slimmer.
“Credit to Kansas City. They did a great job," Colts coach Shane Steichen said, "but we’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to be better.”
Indeed, the Colts had won five of their past six, thanks to an offense that was averaging a league-best 32.1 points and 396.9 yards. The Chiefs held them 20 points — the exact same total Indianapolis has had in every loss this season — and 255 yards of total offense.
Throw in 11 penalties and it was little wonder that the Colts had the ball nearly 17 minutes less than Kansas City did Sunday.
“We had opportunities to win this game,” Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt said. "They made more plays than us.”
Now the pressure is on Indianapolis.
Up next are the Texans and Jaguars, its two closest pursuers in the division race. Then come games against San Francisco and Seattle, before the Colts get Houston and Jacksonville again.
All told, their final six are against teams with winning records.
“We’ve got to do better,” Steichen said. "It starts with myself.”
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