For the second time in the last 3 seasons, the Colts had an opportunity to win the last game of the regular season and seal a trip to the postseason. On both occasions, the Colts came up short, but for this season, there is a lot of hope of optimism for the future of this team.
After going into halftime down 14-6, the Colts managed to mount a comeback and put the game at a 17-17 tie. After a missed extra point by the Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, all the Colts needed was a TD to win the game. With a little over a minute left in regulation, Colts head coach Stane Steichen called a timeout in order to, “wanted to see the look to get a call that we thought would work in that situation”. The play call was a short out-rout to the running back and the scheme was an absolute perfect call for what the Texans were doing on defense. Unfortunately, the perfect call did not get executed and on 4th & 1, with the game on the line, RB Tyler Goodson dropped the pass to get the first down and keep the drive alive.
As mentioned, the play call was perfect, but the execution was not. Unfortunately, after everything that took place in Saturday’s game, this moment is what is defining the end of the Colts season and in perspective, it is unfair to Goodson as the Colts struggled offensively throughout the game by going 1/11 on 3rd downs, the defense busting the coverage on two TDs, and Matt Gay missing a 57-yard field goal off the crossbar to set the Texans up for a FG of their own. All things considered, there was a collective effort in this loss, but unfortunately, the drop on 4th & 1 remains the defining moment.
Here is what RB Tyler Goodson had to say in the locker room following the failed fourth down conversion:
So, aside from this one play, what went wrong for the Colts?
The Colts Finished the Day Going 1/11 on 3rd Downs
In all departments other than the passing game, the Colts outplayed the Texans in the running game with 227 rushing yards to Houston’s 60, only 3 penalties to Houston’s 11, and 360 total yards to Houston’s 306. However, in the moments when it mattered most, the Colts were completely outplayed. As mentioned the Colts managed to convert 1 3rd down and it came within the final minutes of the 4th quarter. For the first 3.5 quarters, the Colts were 0/9 and if anything defined this defeat, it was the execution on 3rd down.
Gardner Minshew Struggled to Make Plays Through the Air
To go along with the inefficiency on 3rd down, the Colts also struggled in the passing game. Aside from the opening FG drive in which Gardner Minshew went 3/4, he would finish the day going 10/20 with a 5.3 average. With Minshew at the helm, the Colts have never been a juggernaut in the passing game, but with the way Steichen calls plays, Minshew is typically set up in more favorable passing situations where receivers are in position to make a play uncontested. Unfortunately the Indy, Demeco Ryan’s defense just shut everything down for the pass and it is hard for teams to win being one-dimensional and not converting on 3rd downs.
It’s easy to look at the negative in a heartbreaking loss, but there were a couple elements that went right for the Colts
Jonathan Taylor had His Best Game of the Year
Jonathan Taylor had by far his best game of the season which is unfortunate because it came in a losing effort. On Saturday, Taylor got 30 rushes for 188 yards and 1 TD. He also caught the ball twice for 8 yards and really made a statement to this Texans defense that he was not going to go down easy.
There were times when it would’ve been nice to see the Colts utilize the success of the running game and create some shot down-the-field off of play action. Regardless, it’s hard to fault the coaches for not wanting to take the ball out of Taylor’s hands.
After Injuries, the Secondary Managed to Hold Up Well
The Colts have been extremely thin in the secondary with the loss of Isaiah Rogers this offseason, Dallas Flowers early in the season, Julian Blackmon late in the season, and in the second half of Saturday’s game, JuJu Brents went down with a hamstring injury. Needless to say, the Colts were scraping by with who they had and all things considered, they managed to hold up well against a Houston team that is known to throwing down the field and making big plays. (the Colts only gave up one down the field shot and that came on the Texans first play from scrimmage).
On Houston’s last drive that put them up 23-17, it was evident that JuJu Brents was missed as replacement CB Darrell Baker Jr. was out of position on this 2nd and long throw by CJ Stroud
This is not to point out the negatives but to showcase that this game could have been a lot worse, all things considered. Even with the Colts playing thin the secondary against a high-powered offense, they only gave up 23 and helped keep their offense in this game.
The Final Down
The Colts 2023 season has officially come to an end and even though the loss hurts for the team as they look at what could have been, there is a lot of optimism for the future with the #4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Anthony Richardson. All things considered, this 2023 season should be looked at as a win for this franchise. I will save the 2023 season recap for another article, but for this article, the Colts and its fans should be very proud of everything accomplished this season and be very hopeful for the seasons to come with Steichen and Richardson at the helm.
The Lucky Colt 
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