INDIANAPOLIS – The worst offensive performance of the season and arguably the worst of Shane Steichen’s 26 games as head coach won’t result in the second quarterback change in seven days.
The Indianapolis Colts are sticking with Joe Flacco.
Steichen confirmed Monday the 17-year veteran will be under center for a second straight game Sunday when the Buffalo Bills visit Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Yeah, he’ll be the starter,’’ he said. “We’ll stay pat with Joe going forward right now.’’
That’s on the heels of Flacco struggling in Sunday night’s 21-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
After Steichen benched Anthony Richardson last week, Flacco stepped into the breach and was unable to generate much. He passed for 179 yards with one interception and that lack of productivity in the passing game contributed heavily as the offense posted season lows in points (6), total yards (227), rushing yards (68), first downs (13) and red-zone trips (0).
In three previous appearances, including two starts for an injured Richardson, Flacco had completed 65.7% of his passes for 716 yards with seven TDs, one interception and a 102.2 rating. He had passed for at least two touchdowns in eight straight games, excluding a brief appearance against Houston in week 8 when Richardson “tapped out’’ out for one play citing fatigue.
“It was one game,’’ Steichen said of Flacco’s performance. “And again, we’ve got a lot of football left.’’
The game marked the first time Steichen’s area of expertise failed to score a touchdown. The Colts’ only TD against the Vikings was Kenny Moore II’s 38-yard fumble return following Grover Stewart’s strip/sack of quarterback Sam Darnold in the second quarter.
Flacco admitted he never envisioned the Colts encountering that type of game-long malaise even though they were facing a Vikings defense known for complicated looks under coordinator Brian Flores.
“Anytime you have a day like we had tonight, you’re probably surprised a little bit that you weren’t able to get it going,’’ he said after the game. “You know coming in here against a team like this it’s going to be difficult, but I don’t think you ever anticipate anything like that.’’
The offense converted only 3-of-12 third-down situations and ran just six plays inside the Minnesota 30. The Vikings, by contrast, snapped 16 plays inside the Colts’ 20 and came away with three Darnold touchdown passes in the second half.
Execution was an issue. On a few occasions, Flacco missed receivers which stalled drives.
“There might have been a few completions here and there that we could have had,’’ Steichen said in his post-game press conference.
Monday, he reiterated he must do a better job as a play caller.
“I always look at myself first when things aren’t going well,’’ Steichen said. “I’m the head coach. I oversee it all and I’ve got to go back and grind at it and keeping working to put these guys in position going forward.
“We’ve got to get more consistent in everything we do, and we’ve got to have great preparation throughout the week and put our guys in position to go make those plays.’’
The offense is mired in a four-game slump.
Since piling up season-highs with 34 points and 447 yards in a 37-34 week 5 loss at Jacksonville, it’s averaging just 17.3 points and 270.8 yards per game. The passing game has finished with less than 200 net yards in seven of nine games, including four straight.
Grover on shock play
Stewart readily described the highlight he provided on primetime. He manhandled center Garrett Bradbury in the second quarter en route to sacking Darnold and forcing a fumble Moore returned for a TD.
“Y’all know me,’’ he said Monday with a wide grin. “I like to be very physical and the only thing (that) be on my mind is destroy that man across from me. I had a great get-off and he just caught me on my track, man. Once I get rollin’, it’s over with.’’
As Moore was racing downfield for the TD, Stewart was aware the officials threw a penalty flag on the play. After discarding Bradbury, he forced the fumble by delivering a big hit to Darnold’s head/helmet with his right arm.
“I thought I was going to get roughing the passer because of the way I grabbed him and snatched him,’’ Steward said. “I was like, ‘Aw, they got me. I was too aggressive on him.’’’
Referee Shawn Smith announced, “There’s no foul on the play. The ruling on the field is touchdown.’’
“I was surprised,’’ Stewart said.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.