3 Colts to blame for losing winnable game against Vikings

The Indianapolis Colts were looking to turn things around, as they are still firmly in the playoff race. to switch their luck, they decided to send a struggling Anthony Richardson to the bench in favor of veteran Joe Flacco. With that, Flacco's first start would come on Sunday night primetime against the Minnesota Vikings.

On Sunday, the Colts had multiple opportunities to pick up an upset win over the Vikings to improve to 5-4 on the season. Instead, Indianapolis lost 21-13 to Minnesota to fall to 4-5 on the year.

It's a frustrating loss, considering the Colts shut the Vikings offense out an carried a 7-0 lead into halftime. But, the lack of success on offense caught up with them, and Sam Darnold was able to connect on three touchdown passes to pull away.

When it comes to who to blame, here are three names that stand out on the Colts for the loss.

3 Colts to blame for falling short of chance to score upset win over Vikings

3. Joe Flacco, QB

Last season, we saw the magic Joe Flacco brought to the Cleveland Browns, as he helped carry them to the playoffs. The Colts decided that Flacco would be an improvement over Gardner Minshew as the primary backup behind Anthony Richardson.

After a dreadful start last week against the Houston Texans, Richardson was officially benched for Week 9. The hope was that Flacco would provide a similar spark to the Colts like he did the Browns last year. Well, on Sunday night, he didn't.

Flacco looked like an entirely different quarterback than the one we saw last year. He struggled to make easy throws, missed out on wide-open wide receivers, and was unable to lead the team into the red zone. Seriously, there were zero red zone trips.

Flacco also turned the football over twice. On the opening drive, Flacco fumbled the football. Early on in the fourth quarter, Flacco was attempting to lead the Colts to scoring range while trailing 14-7. But on third-and-eight, Flacco threw a pass intended for Josh Downs, only for it to be picked off by Byron Murphy. It was a bad throw, as it was underthrown and Murphy was right in front of Downs.

Flacco finished the game throwing for 179 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception while completing 16-of-27 pass attempts.

It's evident that Flacco is not the answer at quarterback. They would be better off starting Richardson again to give him the chance to work through his in-game issues.

2. Chris Ballard, GM

General manager Chris Ballard has been running the Colts front office since 2017 after spending time wth the Kansas City Chiefs. There have been highs, such as playoff trips in 2018 and 2020, incuding a playoff win. However, the Colts haven't made it to the playoffs in six of his eight years at the helm. Perhaps one main complaint from Colts fans about Ballard is his revolving door at quarterback.

Under Ballard, the Colts have mostly bypassed on drafting a quarterback with a high pick, instead going with a proven veteran. We have seen the likes of Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and Carson Wentz start under center for the Colts, but neither of these moves led to much success.

Last year, Ballard drafted Richardson fourth-overall, and had Gardner Minshew as quarterback. Once Richardson suffered a season-ending injury, Minshew stepped in, and pulled the team within one win of making the playoffs. This offseason, Ballard passed on bringing back Minshew and brought in Flacco.

If Sunday was any proof, that was a huge mistake, Flacco is 39-years-old and looks like he can't run an offense anymore. Ballard was the one who ultimately signed him to a contract. With the team not succeeding thus far and seemingly giving up on Richardson, there are only so many scapegoats to go around. Ballard has overseen operations for eight years now. One has to wonder if Ballard will be shown the door if the Colts don't turn things around.

1. Shane Steichen, Head Coach

Most of the blame belongs to Shane Steichen. The second-year head coach decided to bench Richardson in favor of Flacco. It certainly doesn't help that his decision backfired tremendously. But Steichen is also the offensive play-caller on the Colts.

Yes, Flacco couldn't lead the team to the red zone or an offensive touchdown. But there are more damning statistics that are reflective of Steichen. As Jim Ayello of The Athletic points out, the Colts scored just six points on offense, put up 227 yards of offense, recorded 13 first downs, and posted a -0.35 EPA per play rating, all of which are their lowest of the entire season.

Steichen was brought in last year to develop a quarterback and to improve the offense. He didn't show either of that, as he benched the fourth-overall pick for Sunday, and the offense was totally ineffective.

Is Steichen really going to start Flacco against the Buffalo Bills? If so, that's just a recipe for disaster.