NFL Week 12 Coaching Decisions: Colts’ Shane Steichen Makes Bid for Coach of the Year

The first-year Indianapolis coach showcased a daring fourth-down call to help seal his club’s third-straight victory. Plus, the Packers go deep and the Bills play it too safe.

Shane Steichen quickly moved up the rankings for Coach of the Year after many realized that he had the Colts currently in the playoffs after defeating the Buccaneers last week.

My Sports Illustrated colleague Conor Orr, however, didn’t just notice Steichen’s work because of Indianapolis’s three-game winning streak. The first-year coach has been on his radar since the tumultuous training camp in Indianapolis. Star running back Jonathan Taylor missed the first quarter of the season due to injury and a public contract dispute that got messy between him and brash team owner Jim Irsay.

Steichen helped the Colts (6–5) jump to a surprising start behind stellar play from rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson and backup running back Zack Moss. The team then stayed afloat with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew and the return of Taylor after Richardson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

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Steichen has led the Colts to a 6–5 record, despite a tumultuous season in Indianapolis :: Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA Today Network

Steichen has overcome plenty of adversity to keep the feisty Colts in the mix for a playoff spot and certainly should be in the conversation for Coach of the Year. But I want to highlight Steichen’s brilliant play call on fourth-and-1 late in the game against the Buccaneers.

The Colts fooled the Buccaneers into thinking they were going to run the ball behind a jumbo package that included an extra offensive lineman, tight end and linebacker Zaire Franklin as a fullback. Minshew had a fake handoff before hitting tight end Mo Alie-Cox for a 30-yard completion. The Colts went on to score a touchdown to extend their lead to 10 points.

4th & Inches? Indy picks up 30 instead.

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— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2023

The Colts’ fourth-down call was one of three calls we liked in Week 12 of the NFL, along with a few that we didn’t like.

Calls we liked

Love’s deep pass to Watson for first play: From the get-go, the Packers weren’t afraid to test the Lions’ secondary during their upset win on Thanksgiving.

Jordan Love opened the game with a downfield 53-yard completion to Christian Watson that eventually led to a quick touchdown for the Packers. Green Bay testing Detroit’s weak secondary from the jump was ideal, but it also helped Watson make an immediate impact.

.@jordan3love goes DEEP on the first play of the game ‼️

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— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2023

Watson had struggled for most of the season before recording a season-high 94 receiving yards on five receptions, including a 16-yard touchdown catch.

Eagles go bold with 59-yard field goal: Yes, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had an easy decision when he passed on a fourth-and-17 and relied on kicker Jake Elliott to make a 59-yard field goal to send the game into overtime before beating the Bills.

It helps that Elliott’s career long field goal went for 61 yards, but a handful of coaches would have attempted the fourth down due to the rainy conditions and the low odds of making that far of a kick in a pressure-filled moment. But Sirianni rarely lacks faith in his players.

Calls we questioned

Bills sit on ball with 20 seconds left: The Bills should know better than most teams that 20 seconds is plenty of time to score at least a field goal.

Bills coach Sean McDermott told his offense to kneel and settle for overtime after Elliott’s field goal tied the game for the Eagles. McDermott might have forgotten at that moment that his Bills once lost a playoff game because the Chiefs scored in the final 13 seconds of regulation.

McDermott has overseen a number of close, late-game situations in Buffalo with mixed results :: Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports

Also, McDermott didn’t need to go that far back. Russell Wilson recently threw a desperation heave that drew a 28-yard penalty on the Bills to set up the Broncos’ game-winning field goal as time expired.

There are various ways to score in a short span, and the Bills didn’t even bother. Perhaps McDermott had the Jets’ pick-six Hail Mary on his mind.

Ravens’ strange fourth-down decisions: It’s tough to criticize John Harbaugh for passing on a fourth-and-1 late in the game against the Chargers because he has Justin Tucker—probably the greatest kicker of all time—and a standout defense that was stifling Justin Herbert and his offense.

But the Ravens (9–3) have had issues closing out teams. They have led at the start of every fourth quarter this season and nearly lost a fourth game this season because of poor execution in crunch time.

Tucker surprisingly missed the 44-yard field-goal attempt to give the Chargers the ball back at their 34-yard line with a three-point deficit and 2:57 left in regulation. Harbaugh’s defense stepped up with a critical stop, but he could have avoided the mini scare had he given the ball to Lamar Jackson for the one yard.

Earlier in the game, Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken had a strange fourth-down Wildcat play that had Jackson lined up at wide receiver.

Saints’ red zone miscues: Perhaps the play-calling isn’t to blame for Derek Carr’s pick-six or Taysom Hill’s costly fumble in the loss against the Falcons, but coaching should get some blame for the Saints failing to score a touchdown, despite having five trips to the red zone.

Saints coach Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael have had more lows than highs in Carr’s first season as the starting quarterback in New Orleans. They’re getting the yards, but turnovers and lack of touchdowns won’t help them win the lackluster NFC South.