'We wanted to give Trey some reps': Colts Shane Steichen on not using Jonathan Taylor in 4th

On a day the Indianapolis Colts offense struggled to generate yards, running back Jonathan Taylor was the lone bright spot against the Green Bay Packers.

Taylor rushed for 103 yards on 12 carries and added another 32 yards on two catches, but with the team trailing in the fourth quarter, Taylor did not play a single snap .

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Monday it was because they were trailing and needed to pass, and the offense wasn't targeting Taylor in the passing game; backup Trey Sermon was able to stay in the game. It included, however, a third-and-1 situation on the first play of the fourth quarter in which Sermon lost 4 yards.

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"I think in that fourth quarter we're throwing the football, and we weren't really scheming up passes for the running backs there in the fourth quarter," Steichen said. "We had Trey in there, and I thought he did a good job. I think we only ran it twice."

When asked if the decision involved Taylor's pass protection, Steichen said: "No, not necessarily. Not necessarily. We wanted to give Trey some reps in there. That was it."

Taylor's last two carries went for 29 yards and 1 yard, respectively. Steichen said Taylor would have been in on fourth down but Sermon's 4-yard loss -- "It wasn't a good play," Steichen said -- required a field goal attempt.

The two carries Sermon earned in the fourth quarter netted 0 zero yards. Tyler Goodson added one catch for 2 yards.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'We wanted to give Trey some reps': Colts Shane Steichen on not using Jonathan Taylor in 4th