Shane Steichen of the Colts Displays a “Run to Win” Mentality v. Steelers

admin | December 21, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Shane Steichen, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, delivered on his offseason pledge against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Indianapolis Colts entered a new era of football this past Saturday, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a blowout. The Colts easily won this game 30-13 against a team they had not beaten since 2009.

This game was more than just a late-season matchup in a tight AFC playoff chase for the Colts. This game was about setting a new standard under now-Head Coach Shane Steichen.

This offseason, Steichen made it clear that his offensive strategy is based on “throwing to score points and running the ball to win.”

My philosophy is we’re going to throw to score points in this league and run to win. We’re going to throw to score points and run to win. Now, that can look different each week. Sometimes I’ve went into games saying we’re going to throw it a bunch and then we end up running it 45 times. Flow is going to dictate that. I know we have some pieces in place to get that done and we should be ready to roll.

Saturday’s victory over the Steelers was a perfect example of this mentality in action, as quarterback Gardner Minshew tried 27 throws in the first three quarters before succumbing to the rushing attack in the fourth (he attempted only one pass in the entire fourth quarter).

Minshew was on fire in this game, throwing three touchdown passes and another two near-scores. Despite the experienced quarterback’s arguably career-best performance, Steichen chose to adhere to his offseason philosophy late in the game.

With the Colts leading by 11 late in the third quarter, they unleashed old-school, smashmouth football on the defenseless Steelers. The Colts went on a 14-play drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock to put this game away late. What makes this drive unique? The Colts ran the ball 13 times in a row.

On this drive, the Colts were rushing the ball regardless of the down or distance. The interesting component of this equation is that it was spearheaded by reserve backs Tremon Sermon and Tyler Goodson rather than the Colts’ bellcow back Jonathan Taylor or their 2023 workhorse Zack Moss.

The Colts were able to produce 70 yards of offense on 13 rush attempts thanks to Sermon’s tough rushing and Goodson’s explosive play. On this drive, the Colts faced four third-down opportunities, converting three of them on the ground (only failing on the last pass attempt).

The Colts led by two touchdowns halfway through the fourth quarter as the dust cleared at the end of the drive. The Steelers were simply banged around by an aggressive Colts offense.

“You can see the will being sucked out of them,” Colts center Ryan Kelly recently told Nate Atkins of the IndyStar.”They’re not interested. Thirteen runs in a row? On third-and-long, they’d rather rush the quarterback.”

This was not the Frank Reich-led “Run The Damn Ball” era in Indianapolis; it was something altogether else. This wasn’t running the ball because it was the only option for the team; it was running the ball to reward the offensive line and punish the defense.

Tags:Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen

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Shane Steichen of the Colts Displays a “Run to Win” Mentality v. Steelers

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