The Indianapolis Colts suffered a brutal 48–27 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. Well, after losing Daniel Jones to injury, the Colts’ fall was expected. But this time, it was the 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy who crushed their comeback hopes one touchdown at a time. While such a massive blowout defeat is tough to shake off, head coach Shane Steichen refuses to give up on his squad for the remaining season.

“I told the guys in the locker room that we signed up for 17 games this season,” Steichen said, via WISHNews8’s Angela Moryan on X. “We have a tough division opponent coming in next week, and we’re not out of it yet. We’re going to fight until they tell us we’re out of it.”

Following the loss, Shane Steichen didn’t mince words in making his expectations clear. With the Jacksonville Jaguars on the schedule for Week 17, the coach thinks the Colts must focus. After all, the Jaguars are no ordinary team. With an impressive 11-4 record, they rule the AFC South at present. Unfortunately, the trouble for Steichen’s team doesn’t end here. 

The Colts will lock horns with the Houston Texans (10-5) in their last game of the regular season. Much like the Jaguars, this team can wreak havoc and crush their dreams of staying alive in the tournament. With the Week 16 loss, Indianapolis can’t win the division title anymore. The only way to make it to the postseason is to book a wild-card spot. That could be possible only if they win both games and the Texans lose theirs.  

As for the team’s performance, Daniel Jones’ absence has indeed left a huge void. While Philip Rivers is leaving no stone unturned to stabilize the offense, the cracks are showing in other phases. And head coach Shane Steichen didn’t shy away from pinning the blame. 

Shane Steichen points to defensive failures after the loss

It goes without saying that the Colts’ defense couldn’t contain the 49ers. The defense allowed them to move the ball with ease right from the opening drive. Quarterback Brock Purdy’s unit made big plays and racked up points. Running back Christian McCaffrey dismantled the Colts on the ground, averaging over five yards per carry. 

As for the passing game, Purdy turned in one of his strongest performances of the season. He finished the game 25-of-34 for 295 yards, threw five touchdown passes while making just one interception. By the end of the night, the Colts had allowed a whopping 440 total yards, with little resistance at any level of the defense. Shane Steichen flagged the issue while addressing the unit’s poor showing. 

“We got to be better that starts with me got to be better bottom line. We can’t give up that many yards,” he told reporters. “They scored a lot of points went up and down the field. We got to get that cleaned up in a hurry…Our defense played great last week and then this week got to be better and starts with me bottom line.”

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Further, the Colts’ pass rush barely put pressure on Purdy. And when they did blitz, the coverage behind it fell apart. The linebackers also struggled in coverage, giving up key matchups throughout the game. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo tried different schemes, but to no avail. If Shane Steichen thinks the Colts aren’t “out of it yet,” the team must prove it by delivering in all three phases.