The Indianapolis Colts (9-7) bounced back with a 23-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders (7-9) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
This was a crucial win for the Colts, who remain in the thick of the AFC playoff race with just one week remaining. They’ll have a chance to earn a playoff spot with a win at home next week, and they have that chance because of their effort in the win over the Raiders.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Week 17 win:
What went right
- RB Jonathan Taylor took 21 carries for 96 rushing yards and a touchdown.
- The Colts again scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game.
- The offense converted 6-of-13 (46%) attempts on third down and their only fourth-down attempt.
- The defense held the Raiders offense to 5-of-15 (33%) on third downs.
- K Matt Gay converted all three of his field-goal attempts from 38, 33 and 45 yards.
- QB Gardner Minshew turned in a game without a turnover. He was far from perfect, but he completed 15-of-23 passes (65.2%) for 224 yards, one touchdown and a 111.5 passer rating.
- The defense held Raiders RB Zamir White to 71 rushing yards and 3.6 yards per carry.
- CB Julius Brents had a team-high three passes defended while DT DeForest Buckner had 1.0 sack, three quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.
What went wrong
- There was no answer for WR Davante Adams, especially late in the game. He had 13 receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 21 targets.
- The pass rush didn’t record one quarterback hit during the second half of the game.
- LB E.J. Speed committed a roughing the punter penalty on the opening drive of the second half. It resulted in the Raiders extending the drive and scoring a touchdown.
- The Colts offense was just 1-of-3 in the red zone.
- After scoring on the opening drive, the Colts punted on their three drives to follow before scoring a touchdown with 3:12 left in the first half.
The Bottom Line
It was expected that this would be a physical battle, and the Colts came to play. The return of right tackle Braden Smith gave the offensive line a massive boost. They were able to control the line of scrimmage enough to put the game away. There are still plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up, especially in third-and-long situations. However, this was a big win and crucial bounce-back effort to give them a chance at making the playoffs next week.
