There was a big swing in momentum late in the second quarter of Saturday’s game between the Colts and Bills when a fourth-down pass by Colts quarterback Philip Rivers to wide receiver Michael Pittman fell incomplete in the end zone.
Indianapolis was trying to go up 17-7, but the Bills wound up driving for a go-ahead touchdown and wouldn’t give up their lead in what turned out to be a 27-24 win. Reich said after the game that “the analytics were a fairly strong go” at that point in the game.
“If you don’t make it, they’re backed up, they’re likely going to be conservative and you have a chance to get it back,” Reich added, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star.
The Colts lost three yards on the previous play when the Bills blew up a toss to running back Jonathan Taylor. Reich said film study had him thinking Taylor would walk into the end zone and thought after the play that he “should have just run it up the gut.”
That wasn’t the only big moment in Saturday’s game, but it’s likely the one the Colts will spend the most time stewing over as they move on from the loss.