Colts' Michael Pittman Jr. Catches Game-Winner vs. Titans: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts extended their winning streak to four games on Sunday with a gutsy, 31-28 victory in overtime over the Tennessee Titans. This was far from a perfect game for this Colts team but they were ultimately able to get the job done in the end.
All hope appeared to be lost for the Colts when the Titans won possession in overtime and proceeded to march down the field for a go-ahead field goal. The Colts offense, which had struggled to finish drives up to that point, had to drive 75 yards to keep the team's playoff hopes alive.
Gardner Minshew, Alec Pierce, and Michael Pittman Jr. were more than up for the task in front of them. The momentum shifted heavily with Pierce's dazzling, 55-yard reception with just three minutes remaining in overtime. Pierce got the Colts down to the four-yard line, where Pittman was able to finish the game off just two plays later with the game-winning touchdown.
In today's film piece, I dive into that two-play sequence following the long Pierce reception and break down how Pittman was able to uncover in the back of the end zone for the win.
First and Goal
The Colts rushed to the line of scrimmage following the big catch by Pierce and jumped into their heavy personnel. The Colts aligned in 12 personnel with Drew Ogletree and Mo Alie-Cox as the inline tight ends and Pittman and Pierce as the wide receivers.
The first call on this final red zone trip was an RPO, with Minshew having a two-man double slant concept to the backside of the formation with the receivers. Minshew is effectively reading the box pre-snap and making his decision to pull it early in the process rather than reading a conflict defender post-snap.
Minshew recognizes that the Titans are leaving two corners on an island with his receivers, and he takes that pre-snap read as an indication to pull it out for the pass. He rips the slant route to Pierce, who is harassed by the press cornerback as the ball hits the ground.
This first play-call was unsuccessful in its main goal, but this failed pass did serve as a set-up play for what was to come next:
Second and Goal (Game-Winning Score)
Head coach Shane Steichen uses the information available to him on that first play to dial up this impressive game-winning score on second down. The Colts come out in the same exact offensive look (except with Pittman motioning to the slot) on the second-down play.
The Titans elect to play this RPO pass the exact same way with both corners on an island to the outside and in press coverage. The Colts feign a common counter to press coverage by having Pittman sell a rub/pick route. The Titans are fully prepared to counter against the pick play by switching assignments at the conflict point.
In the ultimate 4D chess move by Steichen, that was exactly what he wanted all along. He wanted to sell the pick play in order to get that switch in coverage. Once the Titans switch assignments, Pittman is able to burst upfield with great leverage for the game-winning score.
This touchdown was created with play sequencing by the Colts' head coach. He gathered information from the Colts' failed first down play and dialed up the perfect counter for the game-winning touchdown call on second down:
The Bottom Line
Steichen is simply a fantastic play-caller. Even in a game where he was a bit too conservative in the red zone and didn't have his best day overall, he had the perfect answer when the Colts needed it most.
It is hard to quantify what this coaching hire has meant for this Colts' team. Indy has been down their starting quarterback for most of the season and has been without several key contributors in Grover Stewart, Braden Smith, and Jonathan Taylor for extended periods of time... Oh, and they were only a four-win team just a year ago.
Even with all of those factors, Steichen has this team sitting at 7-5 with just five games to go. He has been a fantastic head coach (and play-caller) for Indy this season, and I can't wait to see how this team finished under him in 2023.
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