Why Colts coach Shane Steichen threw the ball on third down with 1:45 to play

INDIANAPOLIS — Shane Steichen never hesitated. Facing a third-and-8 at the Dallas 32-yard line with 1:45 left in Sunday's game, Steichen called a pass play in order to try to get the first down instead of handing it off in an effort to run clock. The Cowboys had just used their final timeout, Indianapolis had one down left at its disposal and Steichen knew Dallas would have enough time to drive into range for a game-tying field goal even if he ran off an extra 40 seconds in that situation. The Colts head coach wanted to end the game with Spencer Shrader’s field goal. “We were trying to win the game there,” Steichen said. “It’s third-and-8 right there. We’re trying to finish the game with the ball, get the first down, then obviously we can bleed the clock out right there and kick it.” Steichen had to weigh his opponent. If Indianapolis runs the ball in order to bleed clock, the Colts likely would have left Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott with roughly a minute to drive Dallas into field-goal range. And the Cowboys have arguably the NFL’s best kicker on their sideline. Brandon Aubrey left the door open Sunday by hooking a 50-yard attempt wide left, but Aubrey is a star who’s made the Pro Bowl three years running and has a career long of 65 yards. Even with only a minute left, all Prescott would have to do is get the ball to the Indianapolis 45-yard line to be within Aubrey’s range. Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones had a receiver open on the play. Working against his brother, Caleb Downs, Colts slot receiver Josh Downs got open on a slant and Jones put the ball on his chest, but Downs dropped the ball, forcing Shrader to kick the go-ahead field goal with 1:41 left on the clock. Prescott then responded by directing the game-winning touchdown drive in just 29 seconds. If Downs makes the catch, it’s possible that Prescott never gets another chance. “There’s some things (Downs would) want to have back,” Steichen said. “I thought he did some good things, but obviously, we want to finish with the ball.” Joel A. Erickson  and  Nathan Brown  cover the Colts   all season. Get more coverage on  IndyStarTV  and with the  Colts Insider newsletter .