“Single handedly took him out of COTY race” – Shane Steichen gets COOKED on social media for taking Jonathan Taylor off the field on a potential game-deciding play

Going into the game both the Colts and Texans were locked in with a 9-7 record.

“Single handedly took him out of COTY race” – Shane Steichen gets COOKED on social media for taking Jonathan Taylor off the field on a potential game-deciding play

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (Image via IMAGO)

Jonathan Taylor‘s heroics weren’t enough to snatch a win for the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night. They went down against their divisional rivals, the Houston Texans, in a nail-biting 23-19 game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

It was a crucial game for both parties. Both the Colts and Texans were locked in with a 9-7 record. The winner of the game would have made their way into the playoffs, regardless of any other results throughout the league. According to the NFL Next Gen Stats, the Cots had a higher percentage of playing post-season football (55%).

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The tie came alive after Texans quarterback CJ Stroud connected with wide receiver Nico Collins with a 75-yard dart. On the other hand, the Colts were struggling to convert their third downs. They only dispatched one of 11 attempts.

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Taylor was among the Colts best players in the game, racking up 188 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Among them was a 49-yard run, which allowed his team to restore parity to 14-14 after going into halftime trailing by 8 points. The Pro Bowl rusher had to go off briefly after picking up an alleged heel injury.

Around the one-minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Colts had the ball on 4th and 1. Taylor was still on the sidelines, and head coach Shane Steichen sent on second-year running back Tyler Goodson to replace him for the play. Quarterback Gardner Minshew took the snap and threw the ball at Goodson, but he dropped it.

Fans baffled by Shane Steichen’s decision to keep Jonathan Taylor on the bench at a crucial moment

That drop more or less sealed the Colts’ fate of staying away from the playoffs for the third season in a row. Naturally, a lot of football fans, mostly the Colts fandom, were confused, pissed, and had a lot of questions to ask Steichen as to why he did not bring Jonathan Taylor on, even though he was the difference-maker in the game.

"Single handedly took him out of COTY race" - Shane Steichen gets COOKED on social media for taking Jonathan Taylor off the field on a potential game-deciding play
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen (Image via SI)

Here’s what social media had to say about the Steichen’s decision:

Shane Steichen addressed why he kept Goodson

During the post-match press conference, conference Steichen addressed why he went with Goodson. He said,

I felt good about Goodson in that situation. He's a pass catcher for us out in the backfield, and that's what we want.

The media tracked down the 23-year-old inside the Colts locker room, who had a gloomy look on his face. He told ESPN.com,

I'm going to go talk to my parents. They're probably the only people who are loving me right now. I wish I would have made that play.

Jonathan Taylor was asked about his thoughts on the play and if he regretted not being on the field. Taylor said, as per ESPN’s Stephen Holder,

No one second guesses Shane's calls. All year, his masterpiece has been working. So whatever it's dialed up, we feel comfortable and confident. We practice these and prep for these plays 100 times, so we all feel confident. It comes down to execution. You have to execute it.

The Colts season is over, but for another year. It’s remarkable that they even got this far without fielding their starting quarterback. Rookie Anthony Richardson‘s season was cut short early in the season, and Minshew steadied the ship. They finished the season with a 9-8 record and didn’t gain any favorable draft spots for the 2024 edition.

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