Reich’s best/worst decisions: Week 15 Colts vs. Patriots

First of all, an acknowledgement, while there are still plenty of things I don’t like about Reich, I have to admit I was being too harsh on him. Not like he cares about what I write, but I owe the guy an apology. (Perhaps beating the Patriots got me emotional and stuff)

Best Decisions

Riding Jonathan Taylor

Carson Wentz passed the ball 12 times, while Jonathan Taylor received 29 carries. It seems like when the Colts really need a win, Reich understands that using your MVP candidate gives you the best chance to win. The game was weird, because I thought Belichick was going to force the ball out of JT’s hands and into Wentz, but either that did not happen or Reich just decided to force feed Taylor anyway.

Philly Special against Belichick

Not only this was a very creative call in the redzone against a very tough opponent, but calling a version of the Philly Special against the head coach and the team we Colts’ fans love to hate, reminiscing about the fact that Reich beat them in the Super Bowl using that play, was special. I love anything that hurts Pats’ fans, so I loved this.

4th down aggresiveness

There were 3 different times where the Colts were facing 4th and 1, and Reich called a QB sneak on all 3 of them, converting all of the attempts. If there is one thing I really like about Reich is his aggresiveness and how he is not afraid to go for it when the situation calls for it. Analytics are also strongly on his side on this one.

Winning

Overall, no matter how ugly, or how close the game was, the only result that mattered was a win here. A loss against the Patriots, and the Colts’ chances of making the playoffs take a massive hit, but this key win puts them in a really good spot to overcome that initial 1-4 start and make into the playoffs as the hot team no opponent wants to face.

Worst Decisions

Passing attack

Wentz finished the game completing 5/12 passes for 57 yards, a touchdown and an interception (and the touchdown pass came on a flip play, I really don’t think those should be credited as passes). The most worrying thing about Wentz, is that once again he made a dumb mistake, ON FIRST DOWN, that led to an interception. Against the Titans it cost the Colts the game, and this time it sparked the Patriots attempt at a comeback. Reich needs to sort this things out, as right now it is clearly a worrying issue.

Almost blowing yet another double digit lead

I can’t be the only one that was constantly thinking “Oh please not again” during the entirety of the second half before Taylor’s long touchdown run to seal the deal. Why do the Colts always seem to allow their opponent to get back into the game after rolling to an early lead? This game was very close to being the 4th time the Colts blow a double digit lead against a winning team, just not good enough.

Gameplan against Hunter Henry

The Colts have struggled mightily against elite tight ends this season, so we all knew that Hunter Henry was going to be a big problem for us. While the secondary managed to contain the Pats’ receivers, Hunter Henry went off, racking up 6 catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts could very easily go against Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, or Henry again in the playoffs, so sorting this stuff out should be very important.