Those two plays helped put the Colts up, 14-3, at halftime. While the Raiders made it close at times in the second half, an efficient-then-explosive run game was ultimately too much for Las Vegas to overcome.
The Colts, too, were able to patch together their secondary – which was without its two most veteran players, cornerback Kenny Moore II (who was inactive with a back injury) and safety Julian Blackmon (who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday) – and still come away with a win, even with All-Pro Raiders wideout Davante Adams catching 13 passes for 126 yards with two touchdowns.
And when it came down to who-makes-a-play-time, it was the Colts who delivered with a punishing running attack – while the Raiders were flagged for offside on a missed 50-yard field goal, with Matt Gay connecting from 45 yards on his second try to put the Colts back up by two scores with three minutes left in the game.
“We all understand how much we needed it, the realistic ramifications if we lost,” quarterback Gardner Minshew II said. “Since the bye week, it’s been, hey, we’ve just got to win one at a time and we’ll get there, eventually.
“We’re here now, so it’s time to go do it.”
The Colts have built for months to handle the stakes of Week 18. As soon as Steichen arrived in Indianapolis in mid-February, he began intentionally working to build a culture that could rise to a challenge like the win-and-in one looming next weekend. A team that went 4-12-1 in 2022 and wilted in a win-and-in game in 2021 is now back in this spot, with plenty of new players and new coaches – but also a certain collective belief that’s run as an undercurrent to this entire season.
The playoffs, effectively, start this weekend with the Texans. Whether the Colts get to play more than an effective playoff game hinges on every little thing they do this week, starting on New Year’s Day.
“Look, this is what you want,” linebacker…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…