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After Jeff Saturday initially breathed life into the Indianapolis Colts upon joining the organization as interim head coach ahead of Week 10, things have quickly gone south for Indianapolis.
Although they have been competitive, the Colts have lost two straight at home (and five of the last six) to fall to 4-7-1. They now sit 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot with five games remaining.
If that doesn’t all but eliminate the Colts from playoff contention, their upcoming schedule will make doubters of even the most optimistic Indianapolis fans. The Colts still must face the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants on the road and host the Los Angeles Chargers down the stretch.
With a playoff berth looking very bleak at the moment, it will be interesting to see if Saturday gets tempted to try and spark his team with another quarterback change.
However, Saturday quickly dampened any potential quarterback controversy for this week during his postgame press conference after Week 12.
“Matt’s [Ryan] gonna continue being the guy,” Saturday told the media. “We’re going to keep moving forward, keep pressing forward with what we got.
“I tell the guys in the locker room, we’ve got the players in the locker room to do it, we’ve got the plays to do it. We’ve got to figure out how to execute in moments that matter.”
Turnovers Return for Ryan, Colts
Indianapolis played a cleaner game on offense the last two weeks under Saturday. Ryan avoided any giveaways, and as a result, the Colts held a plus-4 point differential the past two games.
But those costly turnovers returned for Ryan against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ryan threw an interception on his second pass of the night. The 37-year-old quarterback also lost a fumble at the 1-yard line.
The two Steelers takeaways resulted in zero points for Pittsburgh, but the first mistake was still part of an ugly first half that saw the Colts fall behind by 13 points. The second giveaway cost Indianapolis at least a short field-goal attempt.
Ryan was leading the NFL with 9 interceptions and 11 fumbles when he lost his job after Week 7. While he didn’t have a turnover in either of the last two games, with a pick and fumble on Monday night, Ryan moved back into a tie with Josh Allen for the most giveaways in the league this season.
It’s important to note, though, that while Ryan was credited with a lost fumble versus the Steelers, a few Colts insiders blamed running back Jonathan Taylor for the critical mistake.
Matt Ryan gets credited with the fumble but that’s 100% on Jonathan Taylor.
Could Sam Ehlinger Start Again in December?
Even if one wants to argue Ryan gives the Colts the best chance to win in Week 13, there’s still a logical reason to start Ehlinger instead of Ryan.
With the Colts all but out of the playoff hunt, should Indianapolis start Ehlinger again to see if he can be a long-term solution at quarterback?
Saturday already ruled out that possibility for Week 13. But Indianapolis has a bye in Week 14. If the Colts lose to the Cowboys on December 4, they will be at least 3.5 games back with only 4 contests remaining entering a week off.
It may depend on how Ryan plays against Dallas, but it’s not inconceivable to think the Colts will switch back to Ehlinger behind center for the final quarter of the season.
If things don’t improve next week for the Indianapolis offense, Saturday could take advantage of the team’s bye week to give Ehlinger two full weeks to prepare for his next start.
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Jeff Saturday Weighs in on Potential Colts QB Change