In the third quarter of the Indianapolis Colts' loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 6, an Indy fan might have turned to a friend and asked, "Why doesn't just Shane Steichen run the ball more?" It would have been a right and good question.
Quarterback Daniel Jones was far from perfect, but the running game was working well. Time was seemingly on Indy's side, and so was the scoreboard. Throwing the ball seemingly only kept the terrible Titans in the game. But what was Steichen doing?
One might have asked the same of the head coach when he didn't call a timeout when his team had the ball after suddenly trailing 23-20 late in the fourth quarter and the Colts trying to pick up yards to get in field goal range. Steichen's failure was just one example of the awfulness that saw Indy get outscored 26-7 in the second half of a brutal loss.
Indianapolis Colts' winners and losers from brutal loss in Week 6
Winner: Wide receiver Deion Burks
Let's keep this short because the overall feeling of the game is brutal emotionally. Burks at least made a bit of a splash as a receiver in the first half with two catches and 41 yards receiving. He was good as a return guy too. He might help whoever the new head coach becomes win games in the future.
Winner: Running back Jonathan Taylor
Taylor had a fumble, but he should have also gotten the ball more. He finished with 94 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving, but should have had 30 carries instead of 21. Had he been running the ball instead of Daniel Jones passing, the Colts would have won the game.
Loser: Quarterback Daniel Jones
Jones is back to being the quarterback he was with the New York Giants, where he can make some decent throws, but also makes far too many bad decisions. The first half of last season appears to be a lie, and general manager Chris Ballard looks foolish for re-signing the QB to a two-year deal worth as much as $88 million.
But how could Ballard really know? Sure, he had most of Jones' previous experience to go off of instead of betting things would continue to work out as they did early last season, but...Oh, that's it. Ballard against himself for Jones and could end up paying the ultimate price.
Loser: Head coach Shane Steichen
Clearly, Steichen wanted to keep a run-pass ratio that was almost even, but the issue is that the run was working well enough (it averaged 5.5 yards per run), and the pass wasn't (4.9 yards per pass), and Daniel Jones was terrible and getting punished by the Titans' pass rush. Jones was sacked six times.
As Steichen obviously has no control over the total team (Indy gives DC Lou Anarumo too much freedom, so players get added, and anyone thinking Steichen has much control other than the offense), his side of the ball needs to be elite. It isn't. Steichen will be a good offensive coordinator for someone next season.
Loser: General manager Chris Ballard
Fans can almost hear it already: Ballard will temporarily take the blame for the team being bad and claim things will be better. We know they won't be until he leaves. He put this roster together, making sure the pass rush was bad and overpaying for Daniel Jones and an already-injured Alec Pierce.
The GM has been on the job since 2017, and his team has made the playoffs twice. Indy won't be making the playoffs again this season either. If Ballard is allowed to keep his job, fans should -- literally -- boycott the franchise.
Loser: Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt
When Sauce Gardner left the game in the second half with a minor calf injury, the narrative changed. The Titans had an easier time throwing the ball, especially when Taylor-Britt was trying to cover receivers. The former Cincinnati Bengals players let rookie receiver Carnell Tate abuse him, even though Tate had done next to nothing at the beginning of the season.
Maybe Taylor-Britt wasn't the biggest problem. Lou Anarumo wanting his former players to be part of his defense and Chris Ballard allowing that to happen is a huge issue. That'll probably change soon with the loss of jobs, including Taylor-Britt's.
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