7-1 feels like so long ago for the Indianapolis Colts. The team was sailing through a relatively easy schedule and, as good teams do, taking advantage of the situation. The last three weeks haven't gone as smoothly. The team even needed to escape Berlin with an overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Indy is 6-0 against teams with losing records through Week 12, and 2-3 against teams with winning records. Every team the Colts face the rest of the way (six games in total) has a winning record currently. Four are against AFC South rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
Should Indianapolis continue its trend against winning teams the rest of the season, Indy will go 2-4 in its final six games, finish 10-7, and could miss the playoffs completely. This isn't meant to be overly negative; the statistics and win-loss records speak for themselves.
Indianapolis Colts have a right to be concerned about Shane Steichen's play-calling
In a more positive view, Indianapolis is just 17 points away from being unbeaten. That is the combined number of points in the difference of their losses. The Colts should have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 after leading 20-9 with less than six minutes left in the game. That was before the defense was left on the field too long.
Which leads us to the biggest concern for the Indianapolis Colts: In tight games, head coach Shane Steichen seems to forget the best player on his roster. In Week 9's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back Jonathan Taylor had a total of 16 touches. In Week 12, Taylor had just seven carries in the second half, and only one in the fourth quarter.
Instead, Steichen chose to have quarterback Daniel Jones pass far too much. The odd part is that the pass wasn't working, and Indy should have been focused more on eating clock. If there was one key that led the Chiefs to be able to come back, it was Steichen's play-calling.
In the second half, Jones completed his first four passes, and those came on the team's first drive of the half. After that, Jones went just five for 15 passing. The team has six drives, and the first two ended with field goals. The last four finished with punts.
Indianapolis Colts fans can assume that most of the games the rest of the season will be close. The question will be whether Shane Steichen will change his approach against good teams late in games and not stop giving the ball to Jonathan Taylor. If that trend reverses and Taylor gets a bunch of touches, Indy can beat anybody.