Colts make horrific call in overtime, hand Texans a win

The Indianapolis Colts wasted an incredible game from Andrew Luck because the defense is terrible and, oh yeah, the worst coaching call of the year.

The Indianapolis Colts and specifically head coach Frank Reich are in for a really, really long few days. The Colts could have tied the game against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, but instead decided to go for a first down on 4th and 4 from their own 43-yard line. The result was an incomplete pass, a ton of booing, and two plays later, a 37-34 defeat.

While Reich is a first-year head coach, it’s an inexcusable call. The Texans had no timeouts left and almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to get down the field in time to attempt a reasonable field goal.

Indianapolis is now 1-3 which, while not good, is made even worse by the fact it should be 1-2-1. The Colts watched as Andrew Luck was nothing short of brilliant, especially considering he was without Jack Doyle and T.Y. Hilton for much of the game.

Luck somehow went 40-of-62 for 462 yards and four touchdowns, inspiring a comeback late in the fourth quarter. Houston was leading 28-10 in the second half before Luck and Co. staged a furious rally, tying the game at 31-31 before a last-second, game-winning field goal attempt by Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn, which sailed wide right.

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In overtime, the Colts drove down the field on Luck’s right arm before settling for a Adam Vinatieri field goal. After Fairbairn reciprocated to tie the contest late in overtime, Indianapolis had a chance to win the game but stalled. Somehow, after trying to draw the Texans offsides on 4th and 4, the Colts called a timeout, then ran the offense back out and threw a quick pass to the right side, only to see it hit the ground.