Why Colts ran Jonathan Taylor out of shotgun on failed third down

The ball was in Jonathan Taylor’s hands for the last offensive play the Colts ran in Sunday’s 23-20 loss to Kansas City.

Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen said on Monday that he regretted his decision to throw the ball on eight of the Colts’ nine plays in the fourth quarter, instead of handing the ball off to Taylor.

But once the game went to overtime, Steichen called a run-pass option on first down, and after the Chiefs forced Daniel Jones to take the pass option and complete a 4-yard throw to Drew Ogletree, the next two carries went to Taylor.

Taylor picked up five yards on the first, setting up a third-and-1.

Indianapolis handed the ball to Taylor on an inside zone out of the shotgun on third down, and the Chiefs swarmed the Colts superstar for a 2-yard loss, forcing Indianapolis to punt it away to Patrick Mahomes for what became the game-winning drive.

The Colts were trying to place some uncertainty in the heads of Kansas City’s defense by running Taylor out of the shotgun. The Chiefs attacked Taylor aggressively on Sunday; outside of a 27-yard run up the right sideline,

“We were in the gun, thinking maybe (the Chiefs) were thinking it's pass, and they had a little line stunt up front with Chris Jones,” Steichen said. “Credit to those guys – they did a good job up front. We didn't get to the second level.”

Indianapolis had given the Chiefs some reason to think pass earlier in the game.

The Colts offense faced third-and-one five times on Sunday. Indianapolis dropped back to throw three times, producing two first downs on a Jones scramble and a 48-yard pass to Ashton Dulin. The Colts also ran twice, picking up first downs on a 2-yard plunge by Taylor and his longest run of the day, a 27-yard scamper to the right.

The Chiefs’ best defensive player blew up the Colts’ plans in overtime.

Jones, Kansas City’s All-Pro defensive tackle, blew up the play, knifing to his left when Colts center Tanor Bortolini expected Jones to try to work to his right, where the play was headed. Jones’ move pulled Bortolini out of the hole Taylor tried to probe, allowing Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill to knife through the line untouched for a 2-yard loss.

If the Colts had played it more conventional, lining up with Jones under center and handing off, maybe Taylor picks up the first down.

But the play Jones made rendered any uncertainty on Kansas City’s part a moot point, blowing up the play before Taylor could get to the hole.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts ran Jonathan Taylor out of shotgun on failed third down, why?