Jeff Saturday ‘Didn’t Think Time Was Of The Essence’ As The Clock Ticked On The Colts Final Drive

The Indianapolis Colts fell to 4-7-1 on Monday night with a 24-17 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a hideous first half in which they could muster only three points, the Colts offense did produce two touchdowns in the third quarter, but once again stalled out in the fourth.

Despite that, they still had a chance late in the fourth quarter, trailing by seven and needing a 93 yard drive in a two-minute drill. After moving the ball across midfield, the Colts found themselves in a 2nd and 17 with the clock winding and all three timeouts in their pocket. Matt Ryan, who can only be described as “statuesque” in his movement at 37 years old, stunned everyone (and most of all the Steelers) when he took off for a 14-yard run to give the Colts a manageable third down (in part because of the fairly new rule where a dive is the same as a slide for a QB and he’s ruled down when he starts going to the ground).

Ryan dives down with 50 seconds to play, and on the broadcast Joe Buck said “they have got to take a timeout here,” only to be shocked when Jeff Saturday stood there on the sideline letting the clock wind.

Indianapolis would try to hustle into formation and ran a dive play that lost yardage, setting up a 4th and 3, begging the question of why Saturday didn’t call a timeout with three in hand in order to get the Colts into the best possible play. After the game, Saturday gave a rather bizarre answer about how he “didn’t think time was of the essence” and how he “wasn’t too concerned” with the clock.

I understood letting the clock wind before the 2nd and 17 play, because there was a possibility they’d be in a situation where they’d need all three timeouts to get the ball back if they didn’t pick up any yardage on the next two plays. However, after Ryan got it into 3rd and 3, that’s such a high leverage spot that calling a timeout isn’t just about stopping the clock, but it’s about getting organized and discussing what the best possible plays are going to be for the third (and possibly fourth) down to ensure you still have a chance to win the game.

While with all three timeouts it’s not necessary to stop the clock, it was clear that the Colts were still rushing to get the snap off and in that situation with the importance of getting a first down, that’s more valuable than holding onto timeouts. Saturday’s inexperience in this situation (along with an offensive coordinator who has never called plays before three weeks ago) certainly seemed to work against the Colts in this spot.

The good news is, Saturday should be well aware of what the lead topic will be on ESPN tomorrow morning.