The Indianapolis Colts playoff chances would have been on life support with a Week 17 loss.
And it might not have been pretty, but they walked out with a 23 to 20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders to improve to 9-7 on the season.
Closing 2023 with a WIN‼️ #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/lNzKbGNDkH
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 31, 2023
The Colts got their full starting offensive line back this week, which was a significant part of their win. They were able to get the run game going again as Jonathan Taylor went for 96 yards, and backup Trey Sermon averaged over six yards per carry on the day. It was also a pretty solid day from QB Gardner Minshew. He connected on multiple big shots on the day and, most importantly, didn't turn it over.
For the most part, the Colts defense correlated the Raider's struggling offense. They forced five punts on the day, and outside of a garbage time touchdown, they held them to 13 points on the day. Their pass rush still struggles to create consistent pressure and only finished with two sacks on the day.
Gardner Minshew: 15/23 (65.2%), 224 yards, 1 touchdown
Jonathan Taylor: 21 carries, 96 yards (4.6 avg), 1 touchdown
Alec Pierce: 1 reception, 58 yards, 1 touchdown
Michael Pittman Jr.: 5 receptions, 46 yards
E.J. Speed: 12 total tackles, 8 solo
DeForest Buckner & Tyquan Lewis: 1 sack
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