Colts' Jeff Saturday says he wishes he had used late timeout

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In a reversal of his postgame comments, Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday said Tuesday that he had regrets about the team's handling of a late game situation.

Saturday didn't call a timeout before the third-down play, opting to stick with the play call. The Colts would have had an advantage if they had a better personnel grouping.

The Colts couldn't get lined up quickly, allowing the clock to roll and giving the Steelers time to regroup. Jonathan Taylor was stuffed for no gain on the third and final play from the 26 yard line.

Saturday said that he wished he'd used the timeout. From a time perspective, I was happy. We were in a mess. I did not have a good feeling.

Saturday said that part of the disarray was the fact that the third-down playcall required the wide receiver to line up in different spots. The play clock was about to run out.

As both men were in their third games in their new roles, the situation put them under scrutiny. Frank Reich was the Colts' play caller before he was fired.

Saturday said that the experience was a learning one.

Before the third-down play, the Colts had three timeouts left. The ball was snapped with 34 seconds left in the game. It took 25 seconds between the previous snap and the Colts snapping the ball on third down. The team didn't think that was what they wanted. Saturday said that the intent was to play with a quicker pace in order to take advantage of the defense.

I don't understand what personnel is in the game, what formations we were in, and how guys are going to line up.

I wanted to get this first down quickly. They should be kept on their heels. We should have hit the timeout and given ourselves the best chance to win.

"I wish I had that third down back and, in all honesty, wish I'd used the timeout. Just looking at it on film ... from a time perspective, I felt good. But you could tell we were in disarray. I just didn't have a great feel." Jeff Saturday

The Colts were concerned that the Steelers might change to a heavier-personnel grouping for short-yardage situations. Six men were dropped into coverage on a second-and- 17 play.

The long delay between snaps allowed theSteelers to regroup and, it seems, get a good look at the Colts' intentions. The play was likely to be a run, according to Alex Highsmith. Highsmith darted inside after the ball was snapped. Highsmith was able to make the tackle on Taylor after catching Jelani Woods by surprise.

The Colts tried a pass to Campbell on the ensuing fourth down, but it was incomplete, and the Steelers ran out the clock.

The situation was affected by other factors. Quarterback Matt Ryan gave himself up on the second down play. Ryan was able to escape the pocket and run for 14 yards. He took on two defenders in front of him, but he dived short of the first down marker. If the Colts achieved a first down on the play, they would have called a timeout and proceeded in a different way.

On the final possession, the Colts could have used more of a sense of purpose. Saturday observed a lack of focus while watching the movie.