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Frank Reich on failed 4th down: 'I'm not playing to tie'

It's a question being asked by fans and pundits alike.

Why did Colts coach Frank Reich opt to go for it on fourth down from his own 43-yard line with 24 seconds left in overtime -- and why throw the ball?

That decision led to an Andrew Luck incompletion on fourth-and-4 that set the table for Houston's game-winning field goal in Sunday's 37-34 thriller over the Colts.

"I felt that we had a good drive there at the end and then just came up short," Reich said after the game. "I'll just address it now: I'm not playing to tie. I'll do that 10 times out of 10. That's just the way it's got to roll."

For what it's worth, Luck agreed -- strongly -- with his coach's aggressive play-calling.

Reich was part of an Eagles coaching contingent last season that drew wide acclaim for using analytics to dial up against-the-grain, daring decisions imbued with high-risk, high-reward stakes. Plenty of purists can nitpick Reich's thinking, but the Colts aren't apologizing.

"Yeah, I think that's who we're going to be as a team -- be aggressive," Luck said. "That's what we want our players [to do], that's a mindset we have with our players. It's the only way to win in this league, I think."

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