A Ridiculously Gutsy Fourth-Down Failure Gifted The Texans A Win Over The Colts

Look, I’m all for going for it on fourth down, and there’s a large part of me that has tremendous respect for Colts coach Frank Reich’s bold decision-making in overtime of Indy’s game against the Texans today. But with just 27 seconds left in a tie game, and the ball on your own 43, facing fourth-and-four, maybe it’s the right time to just swallow your pride and accept the tie.

But Reich apparently has no patience for a European construct like a “draw,” and caused disaster for his team by going all out in the game’s final moments. In a shocking move on that late fourth down, he called for a short pass that Andrew Luck couldn’t deliver to Chester Rogers, thanks to sharp coverage from Johnathan Joseph.

On the very next play, Deshaun Watson completed a 24-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, and after a spike, the Texans hit the game-winning field goal with no time remaining.

Kids: Don’t take risks, or you’ll wind up giving a terrible football team from Houston an end to their nine-game winless streak.