Colts Coach Steichen Hands Taylor the Ball in OT Loss

The roar from Arrowhead Stadium swallowed the air the moment referees confirmed Laquon Treadwell’s catch was incomplete. In the hushed tension that followed, Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen made a decision years in the making. He wanted his star running back, Jonathan Taylor, to hold the football as the clock bled out. It was a final, desperate bid to carry the Colts home on Taylor’s shoulders.

For most of the day, Taylor had been the engine of an offense stripped of its aerial wings after Alec Pierce’s injury. He had broken through for touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters, patiently waiting for lanes to open before exploding into space. Yet, when the game came down to the wire in overtime, the physical reality of Kansas City’s defense turned the plan into a stalemate. The ball stayed in Taylor’s hands, but the field did not yield.

A history of hesitation

Critics have long questioned Steichen’s playbook in critical moments, pointing to a pattern of passing over running when the stakes were highest. The 2023 season finale saw the Colts falter when Steichen chose a pass over a handoff to Taylor. A year later, a similar stall in Kansas City drew fire for too many aerial attempts. This time, the coaching staff reversed course, explicitly planning to let Taylor seal the victory with his legs.

“I was trying to finish the game with JT, with the ball in his hands,” Steichen admitted. The intent was clear: hand the weapon to the best player on the field and trust the physicality of the run game to break the deadlock. It was a direct response to the scrutiny that had followed the franchise through recent seasons.

Defenders break the line

Kansas City linebacker Drue Tranquill met Taylor at the line of scrimmage, wrestling him down for a one-yard loss on the first play. The offensive line, already struggling against a Chiefs defense that had shredded Indianapolis earlier in the game, could not create the space needed for a breakthrough. On the next snap, linebacker Nick Bolton dropped Taylor for another two-yard loss, pinning the Colts deep in their own territory.

With the momentum shifting, Steichen called for a pass on third-and-13. Quarterback Daniel Jones scanned the field, found no open receivers, and pulled the ball down to scramble for five yards. The offense remained on the field, but the rhythm was broken. The physical dominance that had carried the team through the regular quarters evaporated under the pressure of the overtime clock.

A field goal ends the dream

Steichen had instructed Jones to take a delay of game if the defensive alignment did not match the play call. When Jones stepped to the line, the coverage was wrong. Rather than force a risky run, the Colts pulled the trigger on a field goal. Spencer Shrader stepped into the pocket, his leg swinging in a smooth arc, and the ball sailed 38 yards into the net, tying the game at 30.

The hope now rested on the defense to force a turnover. But the Colts’ backfield could not hold long, and Kansas City capitalized on the final drive. The loss lingered with the weight of what was almost, just 17 yards away from a win. As reported by Yahoo Sports, the decision to hand the ball to Taylor was a bold correction to past mistakes, but the physical wall of the Chiefs’ defense proved too high to climb on that day.