The top-performing team in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts, continued their stellar form in Berlin, taking the Atlanta Falcons 31-25. Playing at the iconic Olympiastadion, the Colts and Falcons went blow for blow until overtime, when HC Shane Steichen‘s men finished the job thanks to an untouched eight-yard OT walk-off TD by Jonathan Taylor. Furthermore, this victory has solidified the Colts as one of the favourites to win the Super Bowl.

Alongside the performance against the Falcons, the Colts proved themselves by not overreacting to their upset loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen spoke about how his team used that defeat to learn and improve before taking on the Falcons.

Speaking to the Indianapolis Colts’ in-house Colts 360 show, Steichen revealed, “There was great energy in that team meeting. Obviously, taking ownership of these mistakes that happened.”

The Colts coach then stressed how they aimed to ‘clean’ those mistakes by learning and growing from these issues. These methods worked as Indianapolis unleashed a hungry Jonathan Taylor, who had a career-high 244 rushing yards on 32 carries with three touchdowns. This included the 83-yard game-winner in overtime.

A massive improvement over his disappointing 45 rushing yards on 14 carries performance against the Steelers. Further, they continued their streak of forcing timely turnovers, extending it to 10 consecutive games. With the winning form continuing, the Colts’ head coach also took this approach while finalizing their roster and making the necessary cuts.

Who did the Colts cut after the 31-25 win over Falcons?

Despite the win in Berlin, the Indianapolis Colts still need to make improvements if they want to lift the Lombardi Trophy this season. Shane Steichen was forced to take a call on kicker Michael Badgley. The 30-year-old from New Jersey had a rollercoaster performance as he missed two critical kicks early (the PAT and the 53-yarder), which led to overtime. But Badgley also made the all-important game-tying kick in the final seconds of regulation to force the OT.

“Not right now, no. We’ve got a lot of faith in Badge. Obviously, he kicked that game-tying field goal. Obviously, you’d want to have the other ones back. But that’s all part of football,” Shane Steichen replied when asked about possible cuts in the roster.

A decision to cut Badgley could have been an overreaction, as he is 7-for-8 on field goals and 15-for-17 on PATs over the last five games. Furthermore, the Colts did their due diligence in selecting the former University of Miami kicker, as he had to compete against eight other competitors.

Looking at his overall numbers, Michael Badgley‘s strength is his steadiness from short and mid-range distances, though his numbers drop the deeper he goes: 40-for-51 from 40–49 yards and 7-for-16 from 50 and beyond.

Now, after defeating the Falcons, the Indianapolis Colts will take on the mighty Kansas City Chiefs. This AFC battle promises a blockbuster finish and a golden opportunity to establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders.