INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts are 8-6, holding onto the seventh and final AFC playoff spot after a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.

In that 30-13 victory, the Colts lost two of their best offensive players in the first half after Zack Moss exited with an arm injury and Michael Pittman Jr. was forced out prematurely with a concussion.

This of course after the Colts were already without highly drafted quarterback Anthony Richardson for the year and All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor for the last three games.

But the Blue and White still found a way to win the game in blowout fashion, and former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano knows why.

It’s all because of Head Coach Shane Steichen, according to Pagano.

Pagano, the Colts coach from 2012-2017, knows what it is like to have success wearing the headset for the Horseshoe, but even he is blown away by Steichen’s success this season.

On “Countdown to Kickoff,” Indy’s only hour-long Colts pregame television show, Pagano raved about Steichen’s impressive coaching job in his first season at the helm.

“Absolutely Shane Steichen needs to be Coach of the Year,” Pagano said. “When you look at what he has done, this team was bottom three in the power rankings to start the season. No Jonathan Taylor early, no Jonathan Taylor now, oh by the way you lose your rookie quarterback, you won eight games with a backup quarterback, you had the Grover Stewart suspension, you lose Pittman yesterday, you lose Moss yesterday, you are down 13, you score 30 unanswered. Absolutely.”

Watch the video below to hear the full conversation from Pagano in the segment “Chuck Checks IN.”

Pagano, in a conversation with News 8 Sports Director Anthony Calhoun, talks about what impresses him the most from Steichen’s in-game presence. Plus, they talk about how big quarterback Gardner Minshew’s play was for the Colts yesterday while breaking down everything else from the Colts’ win.

CHUCK CHECKS IN

Hear the former Colts coach every Sunday during the NFL season on WISH-TV. The weekly feature will air live at 11 a.m. on “Countdown to Kickoff.” Immediately following the final whistle of games, switch back to WISH-TV for the Colts’ postgame show, hosted by Calhoun and the Emmy-award-winning sports team.

Stay up to date with Colts news at WISHTV.com/Indianapolis-Colts.

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