Colts win behind 4th-down aggression, pass rush and Jonathan Taylor The Colts might be in the playoff mix to stay. Indianapolis held off Tampa Bay 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium coming out of the bye, pushing the Colts to a three-game win streak and a game over .500 in a crowded AFC race. With a manageable schedule down the stretch, the Colts (6-5) are firmly in the mix. 1. Shane Steichen's aggressive nature pays off The first-year Indianapolis head coach kept going for it on fourth down against Tampa Bay. More often than not, he had the right call in mind. Two of Steichen's fourth-down calls led to touchdowns for the Colts, one set up a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half that Matt Gay banged off the left upright for a miss, and the only one Indianapolis failed to convert ended up leading to a Tampa Bay touchdown that briefly put the game back within the reach of the Buccaneers. But the Colts held the lead for most of the game because Steichen rolled the dice, and because of the creativity of his play calls in those situations. Indianapolis has struggled at times to overpower opponents in short-yardage situations this season, and the Colts haven't been able to employ the rugby-style sneak Steichen helped develop in Philadelphia with any success this season. Indianapolis entered the game converting just 44.4% of its fourth-down attempts, tied for 26th in the NFL. Steichen pivoted against Tampa Bay. On the first fourth-and-short, Gardner Minshew faked a handoff up the middle to Zack Moss, then slung the ball out to an uncovered Michael Pittman Jr. for a 24-yard gain that ultimately led to a Minshew touchdown and a 17-3 lead. The next was also a completion to Pittman Jr. on fourth-and-3, a more obvious passing situation given that it was in the middle of a two-minute drill. Steichen's third fourth-down attempt felt like the riskiest. Facing a fourth-and-5 in Tampa Bay territory, Steichen called a pass, and Minshew fired over the head of rookie wide receiver Josh Downs, allowing the Buccaneers to get back in the game with a short field and their own fourth and long conversion, a 19-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to Chris Godwin. The Colts head coach made up for it on the very next drive. Facing fourth-and-short again, Steichen brought in linebacker Zaire Franklin to line up at fullback, faked a handoff up the middle and had Minshew fire a pop pass to Mo Alie-Cox for 30 yards, the team's longest pass play of the day. When Taylor punched in the score a couple of minutes later, Indianapolis had the lead for good. 2. Colts pass rush makes life tough on Baker Mayfield Tampa Bay's offensive line has been good for most of the season. The Buccaneers entered Sunday's game with just 20 sacks allowed, the fourth-best mark in the NFL, and ranked fifth in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt. Indianapolis obliterated that mark. The Colts racked up six sacks, led by a dominant day from Samson Ebukam, who strip-sacked Mayfield in the final two minutes to close out the game, leading to the win. Ebukam had two sacks; Kwity Paye, Isaiah Land and Tyquan Lewis each had one; Adetomiwa Adebawore and Dayo Odeyingbo split the other. Indianapolis needed the pass rush to be big. When the Colts didn't get pressure on Mayfield, Evans and Godwin often made plays, but the sacks kept the Buccaneers from ever getting back fully into the game. 3. Jonathan Taylor seals the deal For most of the day, the Colts split carries between Taylor and Moss. Taylor ended up getting the key carries down the stretch, and he made them count, finishing with 15 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-sealing score in the fourth quarter and an 8-yard run for a first down to seal it in the fourth quarter. Moss contributed 55 yards on eight carries, but when the Colts needed yards the most, Taylor was often there to pick them up. Joel Erickson, The Indianapolis Star, published 27 November 2023