Colts: Frank Reich’s disaster gameplan doomed Indy in Week 3
By Jerry Trotta
The Indianapolis Colts have made a habit out of playing good enough to lose. You could argue that they should’ve won their last two games.
In Week 2 against the Rams, the Colts’ inability to protect Carson Wentz proved to be their downfall in a gutting 27-24 loss. This past Sunday, Indy lost a huge divisional game vs Tennessee to fall to 0-3 on the year.
Despite being all sorts of banged up — Wentz was severely hindered by his sprained ankles and Quenton Nelson left early with his own ankle injury — the Colts only trailed by a point entering the fourth quarter.
After Ryan Tannehill connected with Jeremy McNichols for a TD and Derrick Henry ran in the two-point conversion, you got the feeling the game was over.
Why do we say that? For one, Frank Reich didn’t play to his strengths. Get a load of these stats, Colts fans, but have a bucket nearby, because they are nauseating.
#Colts running backs carried the ball 16 times and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The quarterback was severely hobbled with two sprained ankles and Indy threw it 37 times for 5.2 yards per attempt.
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) September 26, 2021
It makes no sense at all.
Frank Reich’s gameplan doomed the Colts on Sunday.
What are we doing? It didn’t take a brain surgeon or NFL savant to recognize that Wentz could barely move around in the pocket. And yet, Reich kept calling his quarterback’s number. When the dust settled, Wentz dropped back to pass 37 times and averaged just 5.2 yards per attempt.
Aside from Michael Pittman, who led the way with six receptions for 68 yards, Indy’s receivers were a non-factor. For context, Nyheim Hines finished second on the team with five catches for 54 yards on six targets.
That’s not even the worst part. Reich recklessly decided to abandon the run game. It’d be a different story if the Colts rushing attack was struggling or if Wentz was somewhat mobile and able to run around and make plays, but that wasn’t the case.
Reich’s usage, or lack thereof, of Jonathan Taylor was especially baffling, as the Colts’ star running back logged just 10 carries for 64 yards. That accounts for 6.4 yards per carry. There was no reason Taylor shouldn’t have been fed over 20 carries. Instead, Reich insisted the game needed to be won through the air.
We asked about Jonathan Taylor’s lack of carries. Colts claim they had more runs dialed up but Titans had some new defensive looks they hadn’t seen that caused them to check some of those plays to passes. I still find 10 carries appalling when Taylor was starting to gash them. https://t.co/Q4qt4XPFRQ
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 27, 2021
Appalling. Indefensible. Maddening. Any word that radiates negative would describe the way Taylor was used on Sunday. To check out of the run entirely before even seeing if Taylor could adjust to Tennessee’s new looks is criminal. Would you look at that? Another word to describe Reich’s Week 3 gameplan.
While Reich deserves credit for making Hines a focal point in the passing game, there’s no justifying why Taylor touched the ball five times in the second half. It’s not even like the Colts were trailing, either! We’re talking about a one-score game until the 12:56 mark in the fourth quarter.
We’ve jumped through hoops to defend Reich in recent seasons, but he deserves to shoulder the blame for Sunday’s loss. There was no excuse to abandon the run and put the game in Wentz’s hands, especially after realizing that it wasn’t working.
