Has the Colts' Offense Been Exposed?

Head coach Shane Steichen has been fantastic (for the most part) in 2025, putting his squad into the upper echelon of offensive performers.

Even after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Colts' offense is first in points scored (341), fourth in team rushing yards (1,527), sixth in team passing yards (2,697), and first in fourth-down conversion percentage (81.0 - 17/21).

However, Steichen's play-calling in crunch time appears to wane when they need it most. The best example came against the Chiefs with running back Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor didn't have the most impactful game, finishing with just 58 rushing yards on 16 carries for an average of 3.6.

While it's fair to switch more to the pass, Taylor is an MVP candidate and was denied more opportunities to make an impact in a close game.

Taylor saw a mere one carry in the fourth quarter. To follow that -2 yard gain, Jones threw nine straight passes, completing just three of them for 17 passing yards.

Steichen's decisions as the offensive play caller were curious, and it hasn't just been this one game where this has surfaced.

Steichen has forgot more football than most people have learned, but Taylor is the best running back in the NFL, so he must get more touches than that when the game is on the line.

If this persists in the next six games in close contests, the Colts might end up losing in the same way they did against Kansas City.

Limiting Jonathan Taylor's Impact

While Taylor wasn't underwhelming in Indy's first loss of the year against the Los Angeles Rams, he sure was against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chiefs.

Taylor leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,197), rushing TDs (15), and first downs (60). However, when he's limited or contained, Indy's offense has looked unable to get things back on track.

In those two games, Taylor was held to a total of 103 rushing yards on 30 carries for a meager 3.4 yards per carry. When kept in check, it's a completely different Colts offense.

Even with a great offensive line, and countless talented pass-catchers, it appears that the Colts' offense must have impact from Taylor or it's quite limited, at least for now.

The team needs more from the quarterback Daniel Jones, who hasn't looked like he did in the first eight games of the year as of late.

Speaking of Indy's field general...

Daniel Jones' Responses to Adversity

Jones has indeed had a career resurgence with the Colts under Steichen. During the first eight games, Jones looked fantastic and was even thrust into the MVP conversation with Taylor.

But his last three games have shown cracks in his game while re-surfacing his New York Giants form, which is discouraging.

Against the Steelers and Falcons, Jones threw four picks, fumbled six times, and was sacked 12 times.

While Jones wasn't sacked against the Chiefs and had no turnovers, he was the most inaccurate he's been this year, finishing with a completion percentage of 61.3 while dealing with constant blitzing from Steve Spagnuolo.

Jones has responded brutally in recent weeks to consistent pressure, blitzes, and when Taylor can't get things going. In short, it's the worst possible time for Jones to be hitting a wall with so much ahead on his schedule.

Jones has to figure it out, and quickly. While his 11 games have still produced great stats overall, his last three aren't good, plain and simple.

If Jones can't right the ship, it's going to be tough for the Colts to finish the season strong while maintaining control of the AFC South.

The Bottom Line

The Colts are still one of the top teams in the NFL and have firm playoff positioning, but it won't stay that way if this offense continues to sputter.

To answer the previous question of if the offense has been exposed or not, it hasn't been, at least not entirely.

But, Steichen must be better in crunch time, Taylor needs as many touches as possible (when it makes sense), and Jones can't continue looking like the 'Danny Dimes' from the Meadowlands.

It's all on the offense to help Lou Anarumo's defense, and if things can get smoothed out, the next six games won't be as daunting as they appear on the schedule.

However, if this spiraling continues, who knows what will come of this season for the Colts after an electric start.