Getty Interim head coach Jeff Saturday and the Indianapolis Colts lost their fifth straight game on December 26.
Owner Jim Irsay called for the NFL to give the Indianapolis Colts more primetime games during the 2022 season. But it’s hard to imagine Irsay wanted the team’s national broadcast contests to go like they have this year.
In Indianapolis’ latest primetime showing, the Colts fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 20-3. Before the two-minute warning of the team’s fourth 3-possession loss of the season, ESPN broadcaster Joe Buck couldn’t help but begin to criticize the inept Indianapolis offense.
Fellow ESPN broadcaster and Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman joined in too, mocking the Colts with a few different comments.
“Who gets to play quarterback next week? You know,” Aikman said. “Not sure anybody is wanting to sign up for that job.”
Aikman’s comment came after Indianapolis’ protection broke down for a seventh sack allowed.
The Colts started Nick Foles behind center in Week 16 for the first time this season. Foles completed 17 of 29 passes for 143 yards and 3 interceptions.
Colts’ QB Switch Fails, Jeff Saturday Drops to 1-5 as Head Coach
Indianapolis has now started three different signal callers this year. While there are other teams in the league who have started that many quarterbacks in 2022, Indianapolis has done it willingly and not because of injuries.
With Matt Ryan struggling the past few weeks, it’s not shocking that Saturday elected to make a change behind center. But the switch to Foles was a little surprising because of the fact, before this week, he hadn’t practiced with the first-team offense since training camp.
Buck and Aikman noted that fact along with the difficulties Saturday has faced the past seven weeks.
“Nick Foles, who’s making his first start in exactly one calendar year,” Buck said. “They are asking a lot of him.
“You think?” responded Aikman
“Not much run game, no work with the first-string offense until this week,” continued Buck.
“Probably asking a lot of Jeff Saturday as well,” said Aikman.
The Colts hired Saturday, who had no previous NFL or college coaching experience, in Week 10 when Indianapolis had a 3-5-1 record. While the media viewed the out-of-the-box hire as an experiment, Irsay by no means sounded like he was giving up on the season with the hire.
But asking a man to jump from the broadcast booth to a head coaching role to save a team’s season halfway through was always an unrealistic ask.
Colts Struggles Continue on 3rd Down & in 4th Quarter
The problems Indianapolis has experienced on offense have, for the most part, continued under Saturday. It also appears as though new problems have surfaced due to Saturday’s inexperience on an NFL staff.
Under previous head coach Frank Reich, the Colts started games too slowly in 2022. Under Saturday, the opposite has been the case. Saturday, along with his first-time offensive play-caller Parks Frazier, have struggled to make halftime adjustments to help the offense play well during third and fourth quarters.
The Colts haven’t scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter since Week 10. But not only that, Indianapolis’ ineptness on offense has led to the defense getting worn down at the end of recent games.
Add that all up, and it has resulted in Colts’ opponents outscoring Indianapolis 90-9 in the past six contests.
Protecting the quarterback has been a problem for the Colts all season. It initially improved with Saturday, who is a former All-Pro center, but the Chargers recorded 7 sacks on December 26.
Third downs were again an issue too. The Colts went 0-for-10 on third-down opportunities on Monday night.
The Colts have now allowed 56.0 sacks this season, and Week 16 was the second time in 2022 that Indianapolis posted an 0-for-10 or worse conversation rate on third downs.
It doesn’t really matter who the quarterback is next week. The Colts’ offense won’t improve if the blocking continues to be suspect, and if the unit can’t find a way to be in more third-and-manageable situations.