Colts' Shane Steichen on Taylor's snap count, botched trick play and Lou Anarumo's status

Colts head coach Shane Steichen reiterated Monday that star running back Jonathan Taylor’s diminished workload Sunday – eight carries for just 23 yards on the ground – in the team’s 42-7 loss to the Jaguars was not related to the trade deadline.“No, it didn’t. I had conversations with JT last week. He’s a pro. He showed up,” Steichen said of Taylor, who as of Sunday had not requested a trade despite increasing speculation he could be dealt before the Nov. 10 deadline. “Obviously, we’ve been rotating (rookie running back Seth McGowan) in there with him.“That was just kind of the way the game played out.”Coming into Week 8, the Colts were bracing to face the league’s lead rush defense in the Jaguars, who had given up just 3.23 yards per carry and 72.2 yards per game. Taylor busted a 19-yard run on the team’s first offensive play from scrimmage, but then managed just four more combined yards on his final seven carries. The seventh-year running back’s carries and rushing yards were lows dating back to Weeks 5 (six rushes for 18 yards) and 6 (eight rushes for 19 yards) in 2023, when he was coming off extended time sidelined due to a nagging injury and attempting to land a contract extension.McGowan, the seventh-round pick from April, finished Sunday with five carries for 29 yards, giving the seventh-round pick an impressive 5.9 yards per carry.Against the Vikings, Taylor finished with 18 carries to McGowan’s 11 – giving the veteran 62.1% of the carries. Taylor’s workload before the Colts began to pull their starters early in Sunday’s fourth quarter was 61.5% - hinting at the Colts’ increased faith in McGowan, rather than a notable dip in Taylor’s carries to curtail the chances he could get injured.“It wasn’t like we had a number on (Taylor’s) carries. I know he had less carries than normal,” Steichen said Sunday. “But that wasn’t anything to do with anything except how the game went.”Here’s what else Steichen said in his Monday media availability with local reporters:Steichen walks back effort concerns in Week 8 lossThe Colts head coach back-tracked his claims from Sunday's postgame that he was concerned with some players’ lack of effort.“When I looked back at it, honestly, I thought our guys played hard,” Steichen told reporters Monday. “I thought execution wasn’t there, and the coaching needs to be better. Those are two things that really stood out to me.“There’s some things (on tape) that was like, ‘Shoot, maybe we could have done this better.’ But again, I think the execution at the end of the day was the biggest thing.”On Sunday, Steichen said he felt his team had practiced and prepared properly entering the Week 8 game and was energized in the pregame locker room, but he felt the team had not as a whole carried that same “juice” onto the field.“Got to bring the energy -- great energy – every single day we come to work. We’ve got to display it on the field on Sunday, and we didn’t display it today at all,” Steichen said postgame. “The effort and the energy has to be there every week. If not, you’re going to get beat like that.”Players in the post-game locker room largely said they disagreed with their head coach’s sentiment that effort, not execution, had been a significant root to the Colts’ shortcomings.Steichen explains Colts' first-half trick play turned painful fumbleSteichen said Monday he had drawn up a trick-filled play for Sunday’s game that he attempted to roll out midway through the second quarter, only for it to go horribly wrong. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones took a snap out of a shotgun formation and handed the ball off to Taylor, who darted to the right edge.There, he met slot receiver Josh Downs, who had set up in the slot on the left side before jogging to the right side pre-snap and then darting back left post-snap. Taylor was meant to then pitch it to the receiver, who then would pitch it back to Jones for a flea-flicker looking for tight end Tyler Warren streaking down the field.The trick play goes awry and the Jaguars get it back!INDvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/AinguLvhQi— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026Instead, Taylor tripped as he changed direction from taking the handoff to running toward Downs, but he still attempted what became a botched pitch with the Jaguars recovering at midfield. Four plays later, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence struck for a 31-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 14-0 lead still with more than seven minutes left in the first half.On a play where the Colts could’ve picked up chunk yardage and pushed into the red zone to try and tie the game, the game seemed to flip.“Obviously, the execution on that play wasn’t there,” said Steichen, who said Taylor shouldn’t have continued to try and force the issue after losing his footing. “In those situations, don’t make a bad play worse. I know (Taylor’s) trying to make a play, but you’ve just got to be smart in those situations.”.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}Steichen: No changes at defensive coordinatorThough he said postgame Sunday he would be reviewing all potential changes in response to the Colts’ fourth-straight loss and worst margin of the 2026 season, Steichen affirmed that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo would remain in his post and continue to call plays for Indianapolis’ defense.“Yeah, (Lou) will be our defensive coordinator and play-caller,” Steichen said Monday.Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts' Shane Steichen on Taylor's snap count, botched trick play and Lou Anarumo's status