INDIANAPOLIS — The Falcons beat the Colts, 29-10, in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon in a late-season matchup with major playoff implications for both teams.
The Colts came into Sunday’s game in a three-way tie for the AFC South lead and holding the last wild card spot, while the Falcons needed a win to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Indianapolis got off to a solid start with a great first drive, moving 75 yards on 13 plays. Running back Jonathan Taylor, who returned to the field after missing three games because of thumb surgery, capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run — the first TD Atlanta’s given up to a running back all season.
The Falcons answered right back with an impressive drive of their own. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke hit wide receiver Scott Miller for 15 yards, then running back Bijan Robinson broke free for 32 yards before Heinicke connected with tight end Kyle Pitts for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.
The teams exchanged punts for the rest of the half until Atlanta put back-to-back field goal drives together. Younghoe Koo made kicks of 23 and 41 yards to give the Falcons a 13-7 halftime lead.
Atlanta got the ball to start the second half and scored again on a Tyler Allgeier 31-yard run to make it, 20-7.
The Colts cut into their deficit with a Matt Gay 33-yard field goal, but the Falcons extended the lead back to 13 points on Koo’s third field goal of the game.
Indianapolis needed offense fast, but quarterback Gardner Minshew was picked off by Jessie Bates for the first turnover of the game. Minshew finished 20-of-37 for 201 yards and an interception.
Koo added two more field goals to provide the final margin.
The Colts’ defense did reach a franchise milestone with a Kwity Paye sack in the second quarter, setting the mark for most sacks in a season in the Indianapolis-era with 47.
The Colts are now 2-5 in games on Christmas Eve, losing their last four.
The loss drops the Colts to 8-7 and further complicates the AFC Wild Card race. Indianapolis has two home games to close the regular season, next week against Las Vegas and week 18 against Houston.