INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Maybe Shane Steichen knew the kind of game that was coming.
Maybe the Colts head coach simply had faith in an offense that has been one of the NFL’s best on fourth down this season.
Or any down, for that matter.
But Steichen put the pedal to the floor on the offense’s second drive of the game, going for it on fourth-and-short three times to punch in a touchdown on a 17-play drive that set the tone for an overpowering 38-24 win over the Chargers.
“You always want to score touchdowns,” Steichen said. “I think it depends on the field position but definitely, with 10 over there, we know they’re an explosive offense, but felt good about the calls, too. I think that’s part of it.”
No. 10 is Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been playing remarkable football this season and matched up well against an Indianapolis defense depleted at the cornerback position.
Herbert issued signs of the game he’d put together on the Chargers’ opening drive, responding to a ruthless Colts opening drive for a touchdown by putting together his own 9-play, 44-yard drive for a field goal.
Indianapolis nearly went three-and-out in response. Facing a gettable third-and-4, Colts center Tanor Bortolini snapped the ball short to Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who somehow escaped the rush and picked up three yards to get Indianapolis in fourth-and-short at its own 39-yard line.
“Field position and where you’re at, feeling good with the calls,” Steichen said. “I’ve got a lot of trust and faith in our guys to go execute.”
The Colts didn’t have good field position to go for it on that play.
But it was only a half-yard, and rather than asking Jones to sneak it, the Colts handed off to Jonathan Taylor, who was hit in the backfield and kept driving his legs, pushing forward to the first-down marker, a call that was confirmed by the NFL’s replay assist.
Taylor hasn’t always been great in short yardage. Before Sunday’s game, Taylor had converted 70.4% of his carries in “and-1” situations into first downs in his career, a number that ranks him below average since he entered the league among players with at least 25 such carries.
By fighting forward for that first down, Taylor sent a message to the Chargers.
“The way we fight, scratch and claw, it’s going to be a four-quarter match every time you play us,” Taylor said.
The next two fourth-down calls were easier for Steichen.
A successful challenge gave the Colts a 3-yard completion from Daniel Jones to Anthony Gould at the Los Angeles 19-yard line, setting up another fourth-and-1. Indianapolis went to Taylor again, this time on a pitch that got him around the right side of the line for a 7-yard gain and a first down.
And after the first two, Steichen rolled the dice again on fourth-and-2 at the Chargers’ 4-yard line, calling a devastating play where he lined up Michael Pittman Jr. on the left wing and scraped him across the formation behind the offensive line, allowing Jones to find him wide-open for a 4-yard touchdown that gave the Colts a 13-3 lead.
Indianapolis had set the tone for the day.
From that point on, the Chargers would be chasing.
“If the coach trusted you to convert and keep the drive alive in those situations, it means a lot to us,” Jones said. “We’ve got to take that and make sure we execute.”
Indianapolis is now 9 of 11 on fourth downs this season.
The more Steichen goes for it, the more his offense has justified his decision-making.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts coach Shane Steichen on going for it on fourth down
