Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich defended his call in the 27-24 loss to Bills on Saturday, including a costly fourth loss decision that ended up turning the game in Buffalo’s favor.
With his team leading 10-7 at the end of the first half and facing the fourth goal on the 4-yard line, Reich opted to maintain his attack on the field to try to deliver a big blow to favorite Bills instead of trying to field goal to a possible 13-7 lead.
By chance, Colts ‘quarterback Philip Rivers’ throw was out of reach for rookie receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the corner of the final zone, and the Bills took advantage of the conversion failure to get 17 consecutive points to a 24-10 lead.
“[It was a] strong, “Reich said of the decision to go ahead on the fourth descent, citing the analyzes he and his team often rely on when making these calls.
The Colts were successful in their fourth downhill run during the regular season. They went 15 out of 20 on the fourth down with less than 5 yards to go. His 15 converted attempts were in second place in the NFL, behind only the Las Vegas Raiders.
Reich felt comfortable trying to do this because he did not believe that Bills would aggressively try to move the ball to the field, because it was already late in the first half and given where they had the ball.
“If you don’t succeed, they are supported, they will probably be conservative and you will have a chance to get them back,” said Reich.
Buffalo responded with a 10-game, 96-yard move culminating in quarterback goalkeeper Josh Allen with 14 seconds remaining at the end of the 14-10 interval.
In the second half, Reich and the Colts surprisingly hit two, after scoring a touchdown that would have reduced Buffalo’s lead to seven, 24-17, in the second half. Running back Jonathan Taylor was prancing in the middle of the play.
“I did our best race there, but was not converted,” said Reich. “No gimmies in this league.”
Reich also said he regretted running to challenge a move in which he thought Bills’ running back, Zack Moss, fumbled at the start of the fourth period. The decision left the Colts with only a time limit for the rest of the game. Reich had time before challenging the move because the cart was brought to the field to remove injured Moss from the field.
“That was bad of me,” said Reich. “I should have waited, there was no rush to dispute that. What we saw initially – people on the sideline and communicating with them – I thought I was out. Everyone thought I was out.”
The Colts are the first team in the history of the playoffs to lose a game while winning at least 450 yards without spins, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau. Before Saturday, these teams were 11-0.
The Colts gained 472 yards, the season’s maximum, and were only 2 out of 5 in the red zone.
“Very difficult to swallow,” said Reich. “You get to the playoffs and you have a good team and you can do it. I know we have a team to go all the way. We gave ourselves chances, but we couldn’t. The red zone hurt us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.