NFL Game Summary - Baltimore at Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Luck passed for a touchdown and ran for another score, as the Indianapolis Colts overcame four turnovers in a 20-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Luck connected on 32-of-49 passes for 312 yards, but was picked off twice. Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 68 yards, but his fumble inside two minutes left nearly cost the game for the Colts (3-2), who have won their last three contests.
"It's huge to survive our mistakes in a sense," said Luck. "It's the epitome of a team football game, of a defense lifting us up in a sense. We made our plays enough to get a win obviously."
Joe Flacco finished 22-of-38 for 235 yards with an interception for the Ravens (3-2), whose three-game winning streak was broken. Baltimore turned the ball over three times.
The Colts drove to the Baltimore 10 and were trying to salt away the contest, but Bradshaw was stripped of the ball by Matt Elam and the Ravens recovered.
Flacco converted a 4th-and-3 with an 18-yard pass to Owen Daniels, but on 4th- and-3 from the Baltimore 43, a long pass to Torrey Smith fell incomplete with 27 seconds remaining.
"It was catchable. It was a tough catch," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "It's a challenging play to make, a very challenging play to make. Those are not plays that you see made every play in the National Football League."
The Colts took the ball after the opening kickoff and drove to the Baltimore 21, but Bradshaw was stuffed on 4th-and-1, and the Colts lost a timeout after unsuccessfully challenging the spot.
On the next play, Steve Smith made a short reception over the middle, but was stripped of the ball by Greg Toler. Montori Hughes recovered for Indy, which failed to get a first down on the ensuing possession, but Adam Vinatieri kicked a 38-yard field goal.
The Colts were in prime position after Baltimore's Jacoby Jones was ruled to have touched the ball on a punt return. The ball bounced to the turf and barely glanced off Jones, and the Colts recovered at the Baltimore 31. Less than a minute later, though, Luck, in a passing motion, was hit from C.J. Mosley. Haloti Ngata made the interception.
Baltimore drove from its own 4 to the Indianapolis 3, but on 4th-and-1 Flacco was pressured, hit from behind and sacked by Sergio Brown with 10:05 left in the second quarter.
Indianapolis then chewed 9 1/2 minutes off the clock on a 20-play, 70-yard drive that was extended by a holding penalty on a successful field-goal try from Vinatieri. The Colts had a TD reception by T.Y. Hilton nullified by an offensive pass interference call on Reggie Wayne. Vinatieri did eventually boot a 34-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead.
Justin Tucker came back with a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
The hosts capitalized on an interception from Vontae Davis to expand their lead to 13-3. Luck found Dwayne Allen for a 6-yard score less than five minutes into the third quarter.
Indy, though, wasted a golden opportunity to expand the margin later in the period. Luck's pass to the left side on third down near the end zone was deflected into the hands of Mosley.
The Ravens then caught a break when Griff Whalen fumbled on a punt return at the Colts 12. The led to Tucker's 27-yard field goal 64 seconds into the fourth and a 13-6 margin.
On the next drive, Luck found a hole in the middle of the field, scampered 13 yards and lowered his shoulder before going into the end zone with 8:56 left in the game. Earlier in the 80-yard march, the Colts escaped a 2nd-and-20 situation when Luck found Allen for a 28-yard gain.
The Colts may have salted away the contest midway through the fourth, but a pass interference call negated an interception. Flacco then hit Jones down the sideline for a 30-yard gain, and two plays later Justin Forsett powered up the middle for an 11-yard TD run with 7:16 left for a 20-13 difference.