Takeaways from Colts' Deflating Loss to Chiefs

– Daniel Jones was great through three quarters of play. But when the game was on the line, the Colts’ quarterback failed to execute when called upon. He finished 19-of-31 (61%) for 181 yards with two touchdowns. Jones was pressured heavily in the fourth quarter, causing him to miss on a few key third-down throws that would have extended the Colts' drives. While the loss isn’t entirely on Jones, those are the plays he must make in key moments if Indy wants to go far in January. Otherwise, the Colts' ceiling may not be as high as we had thought.

– The Colts could not get Jonathan Taylor going for much of the game. Taylor finished with 58 yards on 16 carries (3.6 avg.), with 27 yards coming on one play. The Chiefs did a great job containing Taylor for little gain, putting the Colts behind the chains. It did not help that Taylor only had three carries during the fourth quarter and overtime, but more on that later.

– The Colts’ receivers were largely kept in check. Ashton Dulin led the Colts in receiving with 48 yards on one catch. Tyler Warren (five catches, 45 yards) and Michael Pittman Jr. (five catches, 27 yards, TD) were Jones’ favorite targets, as the Chiefs focused a lot of attention on Alec Pierce (one catch, 26 yards). It was a battle all day long with sticky coverage from the Chiefs’ secondary.

– It was not a banner performance from the Colts’ offensive line in this one. Jones was not sacked on the day, but the Colts’ quarterback was pressured on 40.6% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. The Colts also averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. Steve Spagnuolo brought the heat for much of the afternoon as the Colts were pushed around up front.

– While Indy’s offense did not turn the football over, the group failed to sustain drives. The Colts were 5-of-13 on third down and only possessed the ball for 25:28 compared to the Chiefs’ 42:35 time of possession. It left the defense on the field for far too long, aiding in the Chiefs’ fourth-quarter comeback.

DEFENSE

– With Charvarius Ward returning, it was the first time we got to see the former All-Pro cornerback paired with another former All-Pro in Sauce Gardner . The pair was as advertised, as Patrick Mahomes avoided the boundaries as much as possible. Mahomes threw for 352 yards on the afternoon, but much of that was over the middle. Ward and Gardner had solid days in coverage, and it definitely impacted the Chiefs’ offense.

– Laiatu Latu made his presence felt from the jump. Latu batted Mahomes' first pass of the day into the air and came down with his third interception of the season, setting up Indy's first touchdown of the day. Latu also recorded a sack of Mahomes later on in the afternoon while continually generating pressure up front. The second-year pass rusher now leads the team in sacks and interceptions. It was another really good day for #97, whose arrow continues to trend upward.

– The rest of the Colts' defensive line also had a solid afternoon. The group brought down Mahomes for four sacks and made him feel uncomfortable for much of the day. The Colts also did a good job of containing the Chiefs on the ground, surrendering 3.6 yards per carry despite 41 rushing attempts. The loss of DeForest Buckner has been felt over the past two games, but the Colts are doing a solid job of minimizing the impact on the defense.

– The Colts' linebacker duo was very active all afternoon. Germaine Pratt (20 tackles) and Zaire Franklin (14 tackles) made a ton of plays throughout the game as the Chiefs' offense attacked the middle of the field. Franklin came up with a huge forced fumble on Kareem Hunt to stop a Chiefs' drive as they reached the red zone. They did give up some plays in coverage, but Pratt and Franklin made a lot of great plays against one of the best offenses in the league.

– The Colts' defense did enough to win the game against the Chiefs. They made things difficult for Mahomes all afternoon. But by the end of the game, the unit was absolutely gassed. The Chiefs ran 91 offensive plays compared to the Colts' 50, leaving the defense on the field for over 40 minutes. The box score will show the unit gave up a lot of yards, but the effort Indy's defense put forth should have been enough for the victory.

COACHING

– Much of the talk on how the Colts lost an 11-point fourth-quarter lead will center around Shane Steichen's play calling, and for good reason. The Colts became very pass-heavy in the fourth quarter and overtime, handing it off to Taylor only three times in the game's final two periods. It allowed the Chiefs more opportunities to tie the game and forced the Colts' defense into minimal rest.

A counterpoint could be made that the Colts struggled to run the ball in the previous three quarters, which is true. However, abandoning the run game completely made the Colts one-dimensional and failed to burn any time off the clock. This is not the first time this year Steichen has gotten away from the run game, and it has backfired each time. Steichen will be the first to admit he must be better in these situations moving forward.

– Lou Anarumo was given the nickname of "The Mad Scientist" for how his defenses have confused Mahomes and other quarterbacks over the years. Anarumo was having success yet again, limiting the Chiefs to nine points through three quarters. But as the offense sputtered and the defense began to fatigue, there was not much for Anarumo to do. Much like the performance from his defense, Anarumo did his job, and it should have been enough to move Indy to 9-2. Instead, the Colts sit at 8-3 with very little margin for error in the race for the AFC South crown.