Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen greets wide receiver Anthony Gould (6) before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Colts HC Shane Steichen draws criticism for his late-game management

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Nov 23, 2025 6:46 PM ET

The Indianapolis Colts let a huge opportunity slip away against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and Shane Steichen is under fire for the way he handled the end of the game.

The Chiefs came from behind to beat the Colts 23-20 in overtime in Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes and company trailed 20-9 early in the fourth quarter and appeared destined for a loss when Kareem Hunt lost a fumble at the Indy 12-yard line with 14:48 remaining.

The Colts had several chances to put the game away, but they punted on their final three possessions of regulation. Their play-calling during that stretch of the game was also highly suspect.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor was abandoned late

Jonathan Taylor has been the best running back in the NFL this season, but you would have never known that with the way Steichen utilized him late in Sunday's game. As ESPN's Stephen Holder pointed out, the Colts went three-and-out on three consecutive possessions during the fourth quarter. They ran the ball just once in those nine plays.

The Colts completed two of the eight passes they attempted on the three drives. Taylor had one of the catches and turned it into seven yards.

They had 2 completions in those 8 attempts. One was to Taylor for 7 yards -- their longest gain in the fourth quarter.
Total time elapsed in the fourth quarter: Three minutes, 14 seconds.

So, they ran no clock, and their best offensive player touched it twice.

And they LOST.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) November 23, 2025

Steichen, who calls offensive plays, finally decided to give the ball to Taylor in overtime, but it is fair to wonder if the game would have gone to OT had Steichen relied more on the All-Pro back during regulation. The Colts got the ball first in OT and ran it on 2nd-and-6 and 3rd-and-1, but Taylor was unable to pick up the first down on the latter play.

Taylor already has over 1,000 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. He has been virtually unstoppable at times and is by far Indy's best offensive player. Steichen will almost certainly regret not giving Taylor the ball more when the Colts were looking to put the game away.

The Colts fell to 8-3 with the loss, while the Chiefs improved to 6-5 and kept their playoff hopes alive.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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