INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts committed four costly turnovers as the visiting Buffalo Bills won, 30-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The loss was the Colts’ third straight after they had won four of five games to climb over the .500 mark in week seven. The 10-point final margin was the team’s first loss by more than one score.
The trouble started on the Colts’ first play of their first possession as Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson intercepted quarterback Joe Flacco and returned the takeaway for a 23-yard touchdown and early 7-0 lead.
The Colts picked up two first downs on their next drive, but Flacco was picked off again. This time by Bills’ defensive tackle Austin Johnson. Buffalo turned the takeaway into a Tyler Bass 29-yard field goal to make the game 10-0.
Running back Jonathan Taylor helped get the offense moving in a positive direction with a 58-yard run on the Colts’ third possession. The drive ended with a 27-yard Matt Gay field goal.
After the defense stopped Buffalo on fourth-and-three, Flacco put together an 11-play, 72-yard drive capped by a two-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Goodson to tie the game at 10.
The Colts then briefly took the lead. E.J. Speed picked off Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen for the linebacker’s first career interception, leading to a Gay 23-yard field goal for a 13-10 advantage.
Buffalo answered right back with an eight-play, 70-yard drive. Allen showed his big play ability with a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Bills back in front, 17-13. They tacked on a 47-yard Bass field goal to lead 20 to 13 at halftime.
The Colts put together a promising drive in the third quarter, but defensive end Greg Rousseau strip-sacked Flacco at the Buffalo 47-yard line and Damar Hamlin recovered for the Bills.
Allen gave the ball right back on an interception to cornerback Kenny Moore II, but the Colts couldn’t capitalize turning the ball over on downs when defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson sacked Flacco on fourth-and-two from the Bills’ 20-yard line.
Buffalo added a 28-yard Bass field goal to make it a two-possession game early in the fourth quarter. Desperate for some offense, Flacco threw his third interception of the game as safety Taylor Rapp picked off the pass intended for Alec Pierce.
James Cook scored on a two-yard touchdown with just over three minutes to play to put the game out of reach. Flacco connected with Pierce for a 10-yard touchdown with two seconds to play to provide the final score.
The Colts fall to 4-6 on the season and now head back on the road next week to take on the New York Jets at 1:00 p.m. on CBS4.
