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For almost the entire season, the Indianapolis Colts running game has looked like a shadow of its 2019 self. But Sunday in Las Vegas, the potent ground game returned with a vengeance as the Colts steamrolled the Raiders 44-27 to move to 9-3 on the season.
Jonathan Taylor led the way for Indianapolis, piling up 150 of the Colts’ 214 rushing yards. The running game outburst was the biggest of the season, with Taylor himself nearly eclipsing the next highest total — 151 rushing yards in Week 2 against the Vikings.
Sunday’s victory in Las Vegas not only keeps the Colts in the hunt for the AFC South division crown but gives them a crucial win and the tiebreak over a potential Wild Card threat in the Raiders.
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While it was a close game in the first half, the Colts pulled away in a dominant second on the back of the rushing attack and an opportunistic defense.
Taylor gave the Colts a 27-17 lead on a 62-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. He pushed the lead to 34-20 in the fourth quarter after taking a hand-off from Wildcat quarterback Nyheim Hines and taking it three yards into the end zone.
With the Raiders desperate to come back, the Colts began forcing them into mistakes. Colts cornerback Kenny Moore punched the ball out of Hunter Renfrow’s hands, leading to a field goal that put the Colts ahead 37-20. A few minutes later, Colts safety Khari Willis all but ended things by taking a deflected Derek Carr pass 50 yards back the other way for a touchdown.
Carr scampered in for a late, garbage-time touchdown to bring the final score to 44-27.
The Colts carried a 20-14 lead into the intermission after the offense came out on fire, pushing the ball into Raiders territory on all five first-half possessions. The first drive ended in a field goal before Philip Rivers marched the Colts on a 72-yard, 11-play drive that ended in a 7-yard T.Y. Hilton touchdown catch in which he posted up Raiders cornerback Nevin Lawson in the back of the end zone.
The Colts punted on the ensuing possession but scored quickly on the next. Rivers found Hilton on a busted coverage play for a wide-open 41-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis a 17-14 lead.
The Colts nearly added another touchdown at the end of the half, but a Nyheim Hines run came up a couple of yards short of the end zone and left just one second remaining on the clock. Reich sent Rodrigo Blankenship onto the field to knock home a short field goal and push the Colts’ lead to 20-14.
Rivers finished the half 15-of-23 for 211 yards and those two touchdowns.
As has become a recent tradition, the Colts defense struggled in the first two quarters, though a phenomenal Kenny Moore interception in the second quarter limited the damage.
Raiders quarterback Carr racked up 174 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 completions. Backup tight end Foster Moreau beat Moore for a 47-yard touchdown in which Moreau also juked safety Julian Blackmon before waltzing into the end zone.
Carr’s second score of the game on a beautifully placed 21-yard pass to Nelson Agholor, dropped over the heads of Colts linebackers and between the safeties. Carr had the Raiders poised to score again, but Moore made up for his slow start with one of the most incredible interceptions the NFL had seen in a long time.
The 5’9 slot cornerback jumped as high as he could and plucked the Carr pass out of the air with one hand. It was Moore’s second interception in as many weeks.
The Indianapolis Colts now head home for a big game against the Texans, a team that almost upset them last weekend. The Colts yet again are playing for a chance at first place in the AFC South, as they remained tied with the 9-3 Titans, who dispatched the Jaguars on Sunday.
Flawless Philip Rivers
Rivers continues to be the point guard of a prolific Colts passing offense that loves to spread the ball around. On Sunday, Rivers connected with eight different receivers, finishing 19-of-28 for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Notice, there were no interceptions mentioned in his stat line. That’s the case for a second week in a row. In fact, after starting the season by throwing three interceptions in his first two games, Rivers has tossed only six in his next 11.
But he’s doing far more than avoiding turnovers, though he didn’t put the ball in harm’s way at all on Sunday. He’s orchestrating a passing offense that entered the day just outside of the top 10 and looks poised to join that group.
He has also now thrown multiple touchdowns in four consecutive games and pushed his touchdown-interception ratio to a solid 20-9 for the season.
Rivers has clearly develop a rapport with T.Y. Hilton, and that combination has been lethal for the past couple of weeks. Speaking of Hilton:
Familiar faces carry Colts
For most of the season, the Colts heroes have rotated week to week. Some Sundays it’s Mo Alie-Cox. Others it’s Nyheim Hines or Trey Burton. But for the second week in a row the offensive heroes were the same: Hilton and Taylor.
One week after torching Houston (eight catches, 110 yards and a touchdown) in his 2020 breakout game, Hilton was outstanding yet again, burning the Raiders for 86 yards and two touchdowns and five catches.
Even beyond the touchdowns, Hilton served as Rivers’ go-to receiver. On a third down in the fourth quarter — with the Colts ahead 27-20 and hoping to keep the ball out of Carr’s hands — Rivers found Hilton for seven yards and a first down on a crossing route.
If there was one element missing from the Colts’ potent passing attack this season it was the presence of a true No. 1 receiver. Some thought those days might have been behind Hilton, he’s proved the past two weeks he can still be exactly that for the Colts.
Meanwhile, Taylor’s been treading toward a day like Sunday for some time now. He’s rushed for 90 and 91 yards his past two games, finally looking like the explosive downhill runner the Colts moved up to select in the second round of this year’s draft.
On Sunday, he eclipsed 100 yards for the first time since Week 2, rushing for 150 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. His 62-yard sprint to the endzone in the third quarter demonstrated for all to see the breakaway speed a man his size simply shouldn’t have.
Though the Colts still like to employ a committee approach at running back, Taylor’s performance the past few weeks has assured his place atop it for the final three games of the season.
Defense responds again
It’s becoming almost ridiculous at this point. The Colts defense plays a sloppy first half only to clean things up and look elite in the second. Rinse. Repeat. pa
It’s been the story of the Colts defense’s second half of the season, just as it was on Sunday. The Colts allowed the Raiders to score 14 points in the first half before holding them to 13 — a pair of field goals — in the second. The Raiders’ touchdown came in garbage time, with the Colts playing a defense not meant to stop Las Vegas but simply keep the clock running.
As they were in Houston, turnovers were yet again the key for the defense’s turnaround. Moore forced a fumble that Taylor Stallworth recovered before safety Khari Willis caught a deflected pass and returned it for a 50-yard touchdown.
As per usual, the Colts run defense was exceptional, holding a star back in Josh Jacobs to just 49 yards on 13 carries. As a team, the Raiders rushed for a paltry 79 yards.
Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @jimayello.
