INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts (4-1) came into Sunday afternoon's game against the Las Vegas Raiders (1-4) hoping to recapture the euphoria of winning, and they did just that with their most decisive outcome of the season in a 40-6 romp.
Indy began the season 3-0 before hitting their first speedbump last week in a narrow loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but they clearly took out their frustrations on the Raiders throughout the game, on both sides of the ball.
The Colts' offense had 317 yards (221 passing, 96 rushing) and had a streak of six consecutive drives where they scored a touchdown. The defense held Las Vegas to two field goals, forced a pair of turnovers, and notched four sacks.
FIRST QUARTER
The Colts received the opening kickoff but went three-and-out on their first drive due to some questionable decision-making. On the series, they ran the ball right at Raiders superstar lineman Maxx Crosby, who promptly stopped Jonathan Taylor for a two-yard loss. Right tackle Braden Smith was then called for an illegal formation penalty for not lining up properly on the line of scrimmage.
On Las Vegas' ensuing drive, they cut through the Colts' defense seamlessly, but a well-timed sack by Colts defensive end Tyquan Lewis saved the drive from resulting in a touchdown. Instead, Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson knocked in a 24-yard field goal to give the Raiders an early 3-0 lead with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
The Colts responded well, getting 83 yards downfield in 13 plays, resulting in an 11-yard touchdown from Daniel Jones to Tyler Warren. The drive was nearly in trouble from the start, as Ashton Dulin returned the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, but a holding call on Joe Bachie brought the ball back to the Colts' 17-yard line. A holding call after the Colts got into the red zone also caused issues, but the Colts were able to overcome. Indy also showed off its first Warren pass of the season, although he was forced to throw it away. He scored on the next play, making it 7-3, Colts, with 11:33 remaining in the second quarter.
On the following drive, the Raiders were forced to punt from their own 36-yard line, and it was blocked as Segun Olubi came untouched off the punt team's right side and was recovered at the Raiders' 8-yard line.
The Colts scored four plays later, as Taylor rushed in along the right side from three yards out. Spencer Shrader's extra point made it 14-3 with 7:56 remaining, but he was run into during the kick, which injured his right knee. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
The Raiders began to make something out of the ensuing drive getting down into the red zone at the Colts' 11-yard line before a Geno Smith pass was tipped by Grover Stewart and intercepted by Laiatu Latu. It was Latu's second interception of the season.
The Colts polished off their portion of the first half with a four-yard touchdown from Jones to Michael Pittman Jr. With Shrader injured, the Colts went for the two-point conversion, but were unable to get it as Jones' pass sailed high for Pittman. That made the score 20-3, with 0:15 left in the first half.
The Raiders were able to get into field goal position before the half ended, but they missed a 57-yard attempt with no time remaining. The Colts carried the 20-3 lead into halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
After the Colts' defense forced a Raiders punt, the offense responded with a touchdown once again as Taylor skirted into the end zone from a yard out. The Colts' two-point attempt failed, making it 26-3, with 6:54 remaining in the third.
Two plays later, Smith threw a short pass out to the left side that was intercepted by Mekhi Blackmon and returned to the 6-yard line. Two plays later, the Colts had another touchdown as backup running back Ameer Abdullah plunged into the end zone from two yards out. Another failed two-point attempt made it 32-3 with 5:49 remaining in the third.
The Colts' defense forced a four-down turnover on downs on the ensuing drive. Three plays later, the offense scored yet another touchdown, sparked by a 35-yard catch by Ashton Dulin. Taylor would pick up his third touchdown of the game on a six-yard run. The two-point attempt was good this time as Taylor ran it in, making it 40-3, with 2:27 remaining in the third.
FOURTH QUARTER
On the next drive, the Raiders were able to drive down for a 37-yard field goal to cut the lead to 40-6, with 11:39 remaining in the game.
The Colts officially sent in the backups on the next drive, as Anthony Richardson Sr. entered the game at quarterback for Jones.
The Raiders were unable to do anything with the final drive of the game, as the contest ended, 40-6.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.
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