Colts Defense Outduels Mahomes, Ryan Delivers in Win vs. Chiefs
They heard the headlines all week long.
After tying the Houston Texans in Week 1 and dropping to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, everything was called into question with the Indianapolis Colts.
Why couldn’t this Colts defense, who added former Pro Bowlers in multiple spots, handle the lowly Texans and Jaguars? Was the trade for Matt Ryan a mistake? What was wrong with the highly-paid offensive line? Were Chris Ballard and Frank Reich on the hot seat?
The questions, harsh as they have been, were warranted after the slow 0-1-1 start. And on top of everything, the mighty Kansas City Chiefs were coming to town looking to stay undefeated.
So, in typical Colts fashion, they played their best ball against the best teams, grabbing a 20-17 victory over one of the Super Bowl favorites in Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Great team win,” Reich said after the game. “What we were talking about in (the locker room) a minute ago was just the ultimate team win in all three phases. We’ve said kind of coming into this year, that’s the kind of team we feel like we have, that we can be good in all three phases. That’s what it takes to beat a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, and that’s what we got today.”
All three phases had a major impact in the win over the Chiefs. It was a total team effort for the Colts to finally get their first win of the season.
Special teams got things started for the Colts. After a three-and-out to start the game by the Colts offense, Matt Haack punted the ball deep in Chiefs territory where it was muffed by returner Skyy Moore. The Colts recovered the muffed punt, setting up the first touchdown of the day from Ryan to rookie Jelani Woods. Special teams did not stop there. Kick and punt coverage was solid all day for the Colts, not allowing a Chiefs’ return man to get free. When the Chiefs tried to catch the Colts off guard with a …