Having entered the season with championship aspirations, the Indianapolis Colts have so far endured a disappointing season with a 6-8 record and holding onto slim hope for a playoff berth.
Simply put, more things have gone wrong for the Colts than right on the field this season.
To add further insult to injury, the Colts under head coach Chuck Pagano are currently one of the league’s worst teams at challenging:
Currently, the Colts have yet to win a challenge this season, as Pagano throwing the red flag has resulted in being 0-6 in challenges. That’s tied for the worst challenge success percentage among all 32 NFL teams along with the San Diego Chargers Mike McCoy, who is 0-1.
Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano argues a call with head linesman Kent Payne (79) against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Now, in Pagano’s defense, the NFL’s recently revised rulebook and its implementation has been both inconsistently enforced by officials, as well as highly scrutinized this season.
Additionally, Bill Belichick was 0-3 last season, yet his team went on to become Super Bowl XLIX Champions, so this could be considered a highly irrelevant stat all things considered.
Nevertheless, it’s still an interesting stat that Pagano’s Colts have yet to win a challenge this season despite 6 attempts.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that Pagano lacks a good eye for overturning plays, as he’s 13 for 27 (48.1%) all-time in challenge attempts–including going 5 for 7 (71.4%) just last season.
However, much like their season, the Colts have simply been way on the losing end of challenges. It might be worth Pagano hanging onto the red flag in his back pocket as opposed to burning a timeout the way this season has currently gone.