For much of the game on Sunday, Indianapolis Colts’ running back Jonathan Taylor was the lone spark for the offense against the Green Bay Packers.
Taylor finished the game rushing for 103 yards on only 12 carries. That’s an average of 8.6 yards per attempt.
However, in the fourth quarter, with the game still in reach, Taylor was on the sidelines. Of the 22 plays that the Colts ran that quarter, Taylor wasn’t on the field for any of them.
Ultimately, that decision was made because the Colts were trailing by two scores and found themselves in pass-heavy situations.
“We were down 16-3 with 10 minutes left, and we had the ball, wherever it was, on (our own) 30, and we had to go a little bit and throw it,” said Shane Steichen on Monday. “That’s what happened. We were throwing the football.”
The passing game, whether as a blocker or pass-catcher isn’t going to be the strength of Taylor’s game. Prior to the fourth quarter, he had a dropped pass and a fumble.
But on the field for 14 of those 22 fourth quarter snaps was Trey Sermon, and it’s not as if he comes with an extensive pass-catching back ground. In three-plus NFL seasons, Sermon has just 11 targets.
“We wanted to give Trey some reps, that was it,” added Steichen.
To start the fourth quarter, the Colts faced a third-and-one, lined up in shotgun they ran a speed option with Sermon in the backfield next to Anthony Richardson. The play was sniffed out by Packers’ linebacker Eric Wilson, allowing safety Xavier McKinney to make the tackle for a four yard loss.
On the following play, Matt Gay would miss the 50-yard field goal, which would have cut the Packers lead to 10 with a full quarter to go.
Given the circumstances, Steichen thought it was best to go in a different direction at running back that final quarter. However, one would think moving forward, regardless of how the Colts go about, one would think the team would want to find a way to get their most consistent playmaker at least on the field in the final quarter of a game.