Who will the Colts go with at QB for their final two games of the 2022-23 NFL season?

Though many raised questions, about the team’s decision to change quarterback at such a late stage in the campaign, especially considering that there was no promise of a postseason run, it appears the team is prepared to stand by its choice.

Colts set to stick with Nick Foles at QB

There has been a lot said about the Colts’ decision to go with third-string quarterback Nick Foles on Monday night. If you missed it, The Colts made history in their Week 15 game against the Vikings - for all the wrong reasons – when they blew a historic 33-point lead against the Vikings to lose 39-36 in overtime. With that, the decision was made to sit both veteran starter Matt Ryan and backup Sam Ehlinger, for the Week 16 game against the Chargers. Unfortunately for Indianapolis, there was no joy to be found. Foles threw three interceptions and took seven sacks in a brutal 20-3 loss. Yet, as reports now confirm, Colts head coach Jeff Saturday intends to stay the course with Foles under center. Speaking post game - Christmas Eve - with reporters, Saturday indicated that Foles would start the remaining two games of the NFL regular season.

Needless to say, it’s a decision that raises a few eyebrows, with Foles completing just 17 of 29 passes for a total of 143 yards in the Colts’ second-lowest-scoring output of the year. Interestingly, Saturday said he has “no reservations” about the switch to Foles from previous starter Matt Ryan, who was inactive on Monday night. The coach also added that at no point did he consider the idea of benching Foles for Ehlinger, who served as the No. 2 QB against Los Angeles.

The Colts didn’t protect their QB

While the final score definitely isn’t a great endorsement for the signal caller, it has to be said that Foles received little to no protection against the Chargers. With nine hits registered on the QB, questions have got to be asked. On the other hand, it must be said that Foles himself - despite a pass heavy strategy come from play-caller, Parks Frazier - was consistently unsure in his decision making. The three interceptions speak to that fact, in case you had doubts. Consider for a moment that prior to receiving the nod in Week 16, Foles hadn’t started a game since 2020, when he came off the bench to replace Mitchell Trubisky.

Ultimately, while it would be easy to lay the blame at Foles’ feet, the reality is a number of QBs have not done well for the Colts this year. Just think for a moment, that it was Ryan who had the dubious honor of leading the NFL in interceptions earlier this year, as he did his best to keep the team in competition while watching his offensive line get whittled away by injury. That was of course, before matters were made worse by the firing of former head coach Frank Reich. Meanwhile, Ehlinger could only muster two games in the starting lineup and on both occasions, he failed to score even a single touch down, as the Colts lost two consecutive games including a 26-3 mauling courtesy of the Patriots. At this point, the Colts with a 4-10-1 record won’t be seeing the playoffs. They’ve got two games left against the Giants and Texans, with the former still on the hunt for a wild card spot in the NFC. If recent performances are anything to go by, the smart bet wouldn’t be on Indianapolis.