Week 12 collapse reveals red flags for Colts

While the Colts still sit in the driver’s seat in the AFC South, their meltdown against the Chiefs revealed serious red flags about their readiness to compete against the AFC’s best in the postseason. 

Curious coaching decisions and poor quarterback play raise long-term questions for Colts

After eight straight weeks of MVP-caliber play to open his Colts tenure, Daniel Jones had begun to show signs of regression. He committed a staggering seven turnovers across Weeks 10 and 11, resulting in a loss to the Steelers and near-defeat to the lowly Falcons. A Week 12 matchup against a desperate Chiefs team in Arrowhead would serve as a good litmus test about whether Jones could come through in the big moments. 

To his credit, Jones stayed clear of the back-breaking turnovers on Sunday, but his limitations were still on full display. The Chiefs sold out to stop Taylor on the ground, holding him to just 48 yards on 16 carries, and dared Jones to beat them through the air. After a pair of early touchdown strikes, Jones completed just 7-of-19 attempts in the second half and overtime and led the Colts to three-and-outs on his final four possessions. 

Even more startling was head coach Shane Steichen's lack of faith in his signal-caller. With a fourth-and-four on the Chiefs' 44-yard line and 4:52 remaining in regulation, the Colts chose to take a delay of game and punt the ball back to the Chiefs . In other words, Steichen chose to give Patrick Mahomes the ball with nearly five minutes to play rather than trust his quarterback to pick up four yards. 

That late-game punt wasn’t the only curious call Steichen made in the game. His choice to give Taylor only one fourth-quarter carry effectively waved the white flag to the Chiefs' rush defense, and his decision to elect to receive in overtime also went against convention. Though a gassed Colts defense may have played a part in Steichen wanting the ball first, the Colts still would have gotten a chance to tie or possibly win the game even if they allowed a touchdown. 

The good news for the Colts is that a three-point loss to the Chiefs on the road is hardly a season-ender, and any January matchup is likely to take place in Lucas Oil Stadium with the Chiefs still three games behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. Still, Andy Reid and Mahomes showed the Colts what championship-level coaching and quarterback play looked like, and both Jones and Steichen have to be better in big moments for the Colts to have any chance of making a deep run in January.