5 takeaways from Colts’ 23-19 loss to the Texans

If it wasn’t for Jonathan Taylor, this could have easily been a blowout loss for the Colts. The Indy passing attack couldn’t get anything positive going, which was because of Gardner Minshew not getting into a rhythm and having bad ball placement throughout the night.

On the opening drive, on a third-and-four at the Houston 14-yard line, Minshew sailed a ball over Tyler Goodson’s head. If he would have dropped it into him then it would have either put the offense inside the five-yard line or a touchdown.

He also had a huge miss to end the first half. The Colts had a nice drive going to get a touchdown instead of a field goal. On a second-and-15, Minshew again had an overthrow when he had Mo Alie-Cox streaking for a touchdown.

Which Shane Steichen wasn’t happy with. He appeared to say something along the lines of “we had that.”

By halftime, Minshew mustered 45 passing yards compared to C.J. Stroud’s 151 passing yards. Thankfully JT provided life to this unit in the second half and with his success and a struggling passing attack, Steichen leaned into the rushing attack to win this game.

Minshew ended the night going 13/24 for 141 yards. The only positive from him didn’t put the ball in danger and finished with zero turnovers.

Minshew is set to be a free agent but I would like to see him back despite his performance tonight. He’s fine as a backup but tonight was an example of why you need a franchise quarterback in games like this.

For the Colts, they’ll hope for a healthy 2024 season from Anthony Richardson.