Colts' Coaching Moves Pay off as Herron, Newsome Step Up vs. Broncos

The Indianapolis Colts needed a lot of things to go their way on Sunday to defeat the Denver Broncos at home for a chance to go to the AFC Championship Game. 

They needed Andrew Luck to play well, limiting his mistakes while controlling the game offensively.

Check. 

Luck's two interceptions look bad on the stat sheet, but the effect they had on the game was minimal. Both came on long bombs on 3rd-and-long. Meanwhile, his high points were fantastic, leading the Colts to 24 points on just 11 drives. 

The Colts also needed to limit the Denver run game to keep the Broncos from being balanced. 

Check. 

The Broncos ran for over four yards per carry but only 88 total yards, and they never got into a dangerous rhythm in the running game. 

The Colts needed Bad Peyton Manning to show up. 

Check.

Manning was as bad as he's been in 10 years, playing in one of the worst playoff games of his career. Of course, it helped that the Colts secondary did a fantastic job frustrating the Denver receivers, especially Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis. 

But the underappreciated part of this matchup was the X-factors the Colts needed to show up, the unheralded players who could have massive impacts on the game. 

Those X-factors were big for Indianapolis on Sunday night, and it was in large part due to the Colts coaching staff making the right calls in personnel decisions. 

Take the running back position, for example. 

For months, the Colts rolled out former third overall pick Trent Richardson as a starting running back or at least as an equal half of a partnership with Ahmad Bradshaw. We got the "he's our starting running back" line from Chuck Pagano, per ESPN.com's Mike Wells, or the "he's a better pass protector" line from The Indy Star's Stephen Holder.

But headed into Sunday's game, Richardson was demoted to special teams work in practice and then was officially inactive when the game rolled around. 

"

Craziest thing abt Trent Richardson being inactive is the fact that Michael Hill IS active. RB signed just Tues. I haven't even met the guy

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) January 11, 2015"

The Colts rode Boom Herron instead. 

While Herron's final numbers (23 carries for 67 yards, eight catches for 32 yards) weren't efficient, they gave Luck enough support to control the offense throughout without having to force plays. Herron and Zurlon Tipton's work on the Colts' eight-minute drive in the fourth quarter was critical to Indianapolis' ability to hold on to the lead late and avoid a Manning comeback. 

Another key personnel decision was how to handle the reshuffling of the offensive line with Gosder Cherilus and Hugh Thornton each going on the injured reserve list. The Colts could have gone with a number of options over the last few weeks, including playing reserve guard Xavier Nixon at tackle or continuing to play Jonotthan Harrison at center. 

Instead, the Colts continued to start second-year center Khaled Holmes at center, reserve guard Lance Louis at right guard and utility lineman Joe Reitz at right tackle. For both playoff games, those three combined with Jack Mewhort and Anthony Castonzo to put together some phenomenal performances. 

Reitz in particular has played very well over the last four years when given a chance, but for numerous reasons, including injury issues, he hasn't carved out a starting role under the Chuck Pagano coaching staff. But manning right tackle over the last two weeks, he's been his usual solid self, which is just what the Colts need. 

Finally, the Colts made a key change in how they approached their defenders this week, playing Jonathan Newsome over the disappointing Bjoern Werner. 

After a stretch with a few unblocked sacks early in the season, Werner has failed to get any sort of pass rush this season, although he's made some plays in run defense. 

Knowing they'd have to get pressure on Manning in this one, the Colts played Newsome much more heavily and were rewarded. 

Newsome beat left tackle Ryan Clady, sacking Manning and forcing a fumble on the Broncos' third series, which was a turning point in the game. With the ensuing touchdown, the Colts took the early lead and played in control of the game rather than trying to come from behind. 

The 2014 fifth-round pick went on to add a couple more tackles on the day and was a highlight of how well the 2014 draft class has produced for Ryan Grigson this season. 

So yes, the Colts needed Andrew Luck to play brilliantly in order to win this game. And he did. 

But, unlike in past seasons, he didn't do it alone. Kudos to the Colts coaches for putting the right players in the right positions in a critical win for the franchise, as it now goes to its first conference championship game of the Luck era.