As it turns out, week one was no fluke in Indianapolis. The Colts outdueled the Denver Broncos in a stunning 29-28 victory to advance to 2-0 on the season, their first 2-0 start since 2009, a year in which they reached the Super Bowl.
After the game, Colts head coach Shane Steichen called it a “great, gutsy, gritty team win.” Those words could not have rung more true in reference to this game, as the Broncos seemed to have the upper hand for the majority of the contest. Nonetheless, the Colts pulled through with a fabulous fourth quarter to get the job done at home.
Denver has hopes of a deep postseason run this season, and its playoff-caliber roster was on display Sunday. Following a sluggish start to the season against Tennessee, the Broncos started fast, scoring three touchdowns in their first four possessions in Indianapolis.
Littered across the field were the flashy throws and big plays set in motion by Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. Nix finished the day completing 22 of 30 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The Indianapolis defense struggled to slow down the charging Broncos throughout the first half, having no answers for Nix’s arm.
On the other side of the ball, the Indianapolis offense engineered plenty of successful drives, but struggled to convert in the red zone on a majority of them. The streak of possessions ending with a score reached 10 for Indianapolis, the most to start a season in NFL history. The pitfall is that the Colts opened this game with a pair of field goals, failing to reach the end zone on both red zone opportunities.
The primary cause of those red zone failures was the stellar pass coverage by the Denver defensive backs. Multiple throws to the painted turf were on target, but broken up by Broncos defenders. Denver was able to effectively pressure the quarterback with four rushers, while the defensive backs allowed zero passing windows to open up. The impact was that while the Broncos were scoring touchdowns, the Colts were limited to field goals.
Denver was well on its way to picking up its second win against an AFC South opponent of the season, and had multiple opportunities to secure that result. Denver lost this game more than the Colts won it, as the Broncos bungled both of their fourth quarter possessions that would have put the game out of reach if successful.
The first occurred as the Broncos approached the red zone, motivated to capitalize off of the Colts turning the ball over downs. From the 28-yard line, Nix overcommitted to avoiding a deflection of his pass and as a result massively overthrew the intended receiver. The ball sailed into the arms of Colts safety Cam Bynum for an interception.
At the time of the interception, the Broncos led 28-23 and were on the doorstep of taking a two-possession lead with under 12 minutes to play. It doesn’t require a cookbook to realize that would have been a recipe for success for Denver.
Nonetheless, the Colts picked off Nix and kept their hopes alive. However, Indianapolis continued to struggle in the red zone, and settled for yet another field goal. Now up 28-26, the Broncos were gifted a second opportunity to methodically march down the field and put the game on ice.
This time, a facemask penalty doomed the Denver offense to a 3rd-and-25 situation. Will Lutz stepped up for a field goal with 3:19 on the clock, which would extend the lead to 31-26. Doing so would force Indianapolis to reach the end zone in just over three minutes, and more than likely have to overcome the red zone woes they had faced all afternoon.
For a second time, the Broncos faced a prime opportunity to pull away. Yet again, the Broncos left points on the board and hope was restored on the Colts sideline. Lutz missed the kick wide right, gracing the Colts with one last drive to recapture the lead in the final hour. Only now, a touchdown was not required for the Colts to complete the comeback.
What followed was a nine play, 41-yard drive capped off by a 45-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader that was only made possible by a defensive penalty that erased the initially missed kick from 60 yards out. Poetically, the Colts stole the win via one last second chance gifted to them by a Broncos team that couldn’t seem to close the deal.
Regardless of how they got to this point, the Colts are now 2-0 for the first time since a season in which they reached the Super Bowl in 2009. The decisions to run it back for one more year with general manager Chris Ballard and Steichen and to start quarterback Daniel Jones have panned out far more successfully than expected so far.
After the game, Jones spoke on the nature of the win and what it does for the team’s camaraderie.
“This is the NFL,” Jones said. “Most games are like that… you’re going to be battling and it’s going to be a one-score game and it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter… proving to each other that we can do that and perform in those situations is critical for us down the road.”
Jones finished the day completing 23 of his 34 pass attempts for 316 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Jonathan Taylor powered the offense with 25 carries for 165 yards, and rookie Tyler Warren caught four passes for 79 yards.
The Colts look to carry the momentum from this win into their first road test of the season, as they travel to take on the Tennessee Titans next week. The Broncos remain on the road and seek redemption against a division rival of their own in the Los Angeles Chargers.
For the second consecutive week, the home crowd leaves Lucas Oil Stadium smiling after another statement Colts victory. In one of the more outrageous fourth quarters of the NFL season so far, the Colts came out on top to obtain their first victory against a fellow playoff contender. The Colts will take the excitement of a 2-0 start to the territory of a division rival next week as the quest to return to the postseason continues.
