Buffalo Rumblings
After a back-and-forth first half, the Bills dispatched the Colts
The Indianapolis Colts entered play against the Buffalo Bills just a game away from the last Wild Card spot in the AFC. After losing 30-20 on Sunday, the Colts are still eighth in the conference, and they’re still just one game behind the Denver Broncos thanks to their 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills, meanwhile, sit at 8-2 and well in control of their playoff destiny thanks to a weak AFC East. The rest of the AFC East has a total of nine wins, and Buffalo looks like a lock for its fifth-straight divisional crown.
The Bills notched their first win in Indianapolis since 1998, and they did it by limiting the Indianapolis’ key players. Here’s how our five Colts to watch played on Sunday.
Taylor’s game was a tale of two halves, as his production in the first half (16 carries, 107 yards) was phenomenal, but his production in the second half (five carries, seven yards) was next to nothing. Buffalo made some tremendous adjustments at halftime, including playing safety Damar Hamlin closer to the line of scrimmage so as to match up with the Colts’ blocking scheme a bit better.
Taylor had a 58-yard rush in the first quarter that led to a Colts field goal, and another 22-yard carry that set up another Matt Gay field goal. On his other 19 carries, he rushed for just 34 yards. Taylor was also targeted twice in the passing game, but he didn’t catch either ball. Defensive tackle Austin Johnson made his second career interception on one of those passes. Taylor had a great-looking day overall, but much of his production came on just two plays.
The Bills were definitely ready for Downs to be quarterback Joe Flacco’s go-to guy. On the broadcast, CBS noted that 46% of Flacco’s passes have gone to Downs, and on Indianapolis’ first drive, it was All-Pro slot corner Taron Johnson sitting on Downs, intercepting a pass, and returning it for a touchdown.
Downs caught seven passes for 72 yards on 10 targets, so it’s not as if he was unproductive overall. What the Bills were able to do, though, was limit his productivity to plays between the 20s. Downs made a couple of big plays, including a 21-yard grab up the seam, but the Bills did well to limit him.
The big fella had a solid day overall with eight tackles and a sack. For an interior lineman, that’s huge. Stewart and DeForest Buckner, who also had eight tackles, combined to give quarterback Josh Allen some issues, especially when there was no one open and he tried to scramble.
Stewart’s sack went for zero yards lost, but it prevented Allen from taking off and making some magic happen with his legs. As has been common this year against the Colts, Buffalo had plenty of success running the football,...
