WESTFIELD, Ind. – Sauce Gardner has played plenty of games against offenses designed by head coaches and offensive coordinators regarded as among the NFL's best.

That group includes those with the last name McVay, Shanahan, Reid, Payton, Johnson, Coen, LaFleur and O'Connell.

And, for Gardner – after practicing against the Colts' offense for the last few weeks in training camp – that list firmly includes his head coach, Shane Steichen.

"He's top three," Gardner said, "easy."

For what it's worth, CBS Sports had Steichen ranked 10th, while a poll by The Athletic had him seventh.

The Colts are chasing the heights they reached over the first half of the 2025 season, when they scored either a field goal or touchdown on 57.6 percent of their possessions – easily the highest rate in the NFL over the first 10 weeks – and scored 29 or more points in eight of their first 10 games. Steichen's simple-yet-ruthless playcalling was a significant undercurrent to that success.

In camp, Gardner has seen the Colts' offense – even without wide receiver Alec Pierce – pick up where they left off in the first half of 2025. Gardner said he's helped him get better, since Steichen and quarterback Daniel Jones are adept at picking up on tendencies and consistently exploiting them.

"It's great seeing everything come together, just seeing the offense – their playcalling, how Daniel's leading the offense and us as a defense challenging him as well," Gardner said. "That's why, when it comes to winning – I'm like, man, we got everything it takes."