Colts boss Shane Steichen defends overtime decisions in Chiefs loss

The Late-Game Decisions

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen is standing by his late-game strategy. The Colts suffered a 33-30 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, but Steichen says his decisions were made to secure a victory.

With 4:50 left in overtime, quarterback Daniel Jones completed a 50-yard pass to Laquon Treadwell. This set the Colts up with a first and 10 at the Kansas City 17-yard line while trailing 30-27. Steichen then called two straight run plays for Jonathan Taylor, which lost one and two yards.

Steichen denied that this was a conservative approach. He explained that he wanted to finish the game with the ball in Taylor's hands.

Kicking Instead of Going For It

The runs left the Colts facing a third and 13. After Jones ran for five yards and was pushed out of bounds, the Colts had a fourth and 8. Steichen said he was ready to go for the win on fourth down if the Chiefs showed a defense they could exploit.

During a timeout, Steichen told Jones to go for the win if he liked the defensive look, but to kick the field goal if it was not right. The Chiefs showed a defensive coverage that did not favor the play, so the Colts took a delay of game and kicked the tying field goal.

This put the Colts' struggling defense back on the field. The defense had already allowed 1,029 yards in their first two games. They were also playing without starting cornerback Charvarius Ward due to a groin injury, while Sauce Gardner played through a rib injury. The Chiefs then drove down the field and won with a 40-yard Harrison Butker field goal as time ran out.

Deferring the Toss

Steichen also explained his choice to defer after winning the overtime coin toss. He said he wanted to know exactly what his team needed to do after Kansas City's drive. He noted that if they went first, Patrick Mahomes would get four downs on the ensuing drive, making it a difficult situation either way.