There has to be an explanation for why Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday left Matt Ryan in the game Sunday as the Dallas Cowboys clobbered Indianapolis, 54-19.
Backup Nick Foles was unable to play?
A punishment the way Saturday might have imposed if he had a wayward QB while coaching high school, his lone head job before being tapped by Jim Irsay to replace Frank Reich on an interim basis for the rest of 2022?
Saturday and Ryan had a talk when the coach took over and the veteran said he wanted to play after being displaced by Sam Ehlinger.
So, Saturday inexplicably let Ryan play through the second-worst mortifying moment of his career (see Falcons 28, Patriots 3 turned into Patriots 34, Falcons 28 for No. 1).
There were five turnovers that turned into five Dallas touchdowns.
Ryan threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumble. There were four consecutive drives that ended in turnovers.
There was a 33-point eruption by Dallas in the final quarter when the Colts were scoreless.
Through it all, Jeff Saturday inexplicably left Matt Ryan in the game.
It almost felt like Ryan was being taught a lesson as if he was sentenced to detention. You know, a consequence in which students are required to remain in a presumably undesirable place for a specified amount of time outside of school hours.