Coach Shane Steichen has tried everything to fix the struggling offense of the Indianapolis Colts.
He’s attempted deep passes, worked to confuse defenses with the running skills of quarterback Anthony Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor, and even switched quarterbacks.
But so far, not much has worked. After a 21-13 loss to Minnesota on Sunday night, Steichen and the Colts are once again looking for answers.
“I always look at myself first. I’m the head coach, I oversee it all,” Steichen said. “So I’ve got to go back and grind at it and keep working to put these guys in the best position going forward.
I look at down-and-distance stuff, a whole bunch of different things, what we’re calling, how we’re calling it, formation, scheme, everything.”
What happens next is unclear. Just last week, Steichen decided that 39-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco gave the Colts (4-5) a better shot at making the playoffs, so he benched Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Flacco didn’t do much better on Sunday, throwing for 179 yards, getting intercepted once, and losing a fumble on a botched handoff. He wasn’t the only problem, though.
The Colts managed only 227 total yards and 13 first downs in the game. They struggled to keep drives going and only managed a field goal on their one good-scoring drive.
These are not the numbers the Colts expected after drafting Richardson to be their franchise quarterback and giving big contract extensions to receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and Taylor. The team also has the highest-paid offensive line in the league.
Yet, here they are, struggling to score more than 20 points per game.
“We’ve got to get more consistent in everything we do, and we’ve got to have great preparation throughout the week,” Steichen said. “We’ve got to put our guys in position to make plays and we’re going through that process right now.”
All of the problems have just led to more questions. Can Richardson get his starting job back? Will Steichen give up his play-calling duties? Could there be a surprise trade before Tuesday’s deadline?
For now, Steichen seems more focused on finding answers than making big changes — and he’s working on figuring out how to turn things around before the Colts face Buffalo next weekend.
“Yeah, he’ll be the starter,” Steichen said when asked about Flacco. “We’ve got a lot of football left, got a lot of faith and trust in our football team. We’re going to go put in the work this week to go beat Buffalo.”
Defensive tackles. In his second game back after a sprained ankle, Pro Bowler DeForest Buckner played a big role on Indy’s defensive line. Buckner and Grover Stewart caused problems for the Vikings, combining for three sacks, including an important strip-sack.
