Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Oct 24, 2016 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Detroit Lions (3-4, 1-3 Away) | 7 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 33 |
| Indianapolis Colts (6-1, 3-1 Home) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 484YDS, 4TD
Rushing : S. Ramsey (IND) - 24CAR, 159YDS, 4TD
Receiving : C. Shorts III (IND) - 11REC, 201YDS, TD
INDIANAPOLIS - If you tuned in to Monday Night Football, you ended up watching one of the most explosive games of the year. Coming in the Colts faithful were definitely scratching their heads as GM Phil Emery announced that LG Donald Thomas had been traded to Pittsburgh for a 4th and 7th round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Colts offensive line has been amazing, but losing some depth is definitely a concern.
Indianapolis was looking at an elite QB (Matthew Stafford) and an old nemesis at HB (DeMarco Murray), the defense would definitely be tested by Stafford's arm and Murray catching passes in the flats. As it turned out, it was the Lions' defense that would be in dire straits right from the start.
The Colts were already up 14-0 in the 1st quarter when LaRon landry whiffed on an attempt to pick off Stafford and allowed Golden Tate to scamper 53 yards for a TD. Detroit started off with a more balanced approach, but they saw an opening in the Indianapolis secondary and tried to test Landry all night.
Luck is on pace to crush just about every passing record.
Shayn Ramsey ran one in from 2 yards out to start the 2nd quarter, but Detroit came roaring back with a TD pass and a TD run by Murray. The Colts had the ball with less than 2:00 to go, which turned out to be plenty of time as Andrew Luck hit T.Y. Hilton for a 49 yard TD pass that left Detroit 1:30. The Lions were able to move the ball, but the Colts defense came up big and forced a 43 yard Blair Walsh FG. The teams went into the locker room with a 28-24 score, and the Lions were threatening to hand the Colts their second loss.
It isn't clear what each head coach said in the locker room at halftime, but what ever Chuck Pagano said worked really well. Indianapolis' adjustments were so good that they might have been spying on the Lions' locker room. Murray found himself unable to get more than a yard or two and Stafford had to force balls to Tate for 1st downs. Detroit's first drive of the 3rd quarter ended in another FG, and then the Colts took over.
Hilton caught a 71 yard pass only to be tackled on the 3 yard line, but it wasn't all bad at Ramsey punched it in on the next play. Hilton got his due on the next Colts possession, which came thanks to Stafford's first INT of the game, with a 29 yard strike for his second TD of the game. The game moved into the 4th and Stafford threw another INT, this time to FS Branch Daniels, and Indianapolis converted it into a 7 yard TD run by Ramsey.
Now down 49-27 the Lions had no choice but to throw the ball, and in the waning minutes of the game the Colts defense took advantage. Even though the drive ended in a short TD pass, the Colts sacked Stafford three times to bring their total up to six. They failed to convert a 2PT attempt, and their onside kick found Jacob Tamme to basically finish the games. The Colts went to their run game and the tired Lions defenders couldn't stop them. The game mercifully ended after Ramsey ran in for his fourth TD of the day.
If Indianapolis can play like this every week, nobody will be able to stop them. They face a tricky road game at San Diego next week, but they head into an easy stretch of games after that with Houston, Jacksonville, Oakland, and Tennessee at home. The Colts could easily be 11-1 coming out of that stretch with another game against the Titans waiting for Week 16. It's going to be hard to keep the Colts out of the playoffs this year.
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