Indianapolis, Ind. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills won their fifth-straight game Sunday, 30-20 over the Indianapolis Colts, to move to 8-2 on the season for the first time since 1993.
Here are my Arrows Up and Down from the contest, starting with Up, once again, after a win:
ARROW UP:
CB - Taron Johnson
Johnson had one heck of a football game, becoming the first Bills defensive back in franchise history to record a pick-six and a sack in the same game.
The touchdown came on the very first offensive play of the game for the Colts, setting the tone for a nice Bills start.
Johnson finished the game with the interception, touchdown, sack, three total tackles, a quarterback hit, and a pass breakup.
Four takeaways and points off turnovers
The Bills defense forced four Colts turnovers, which included three interceptions and a strip-sack fumble recovery. They converted those takeaways into two touchdowns and a field goal for 17 points off turnovers.
Second half job on Jonathan Taylor
The Colts running back had 107 yards rushing on 16 carries in the first half. However, the Bills clamped down on Taylor in the second half, and he tallied just seven yards on five carries.
The closeout drive!
The Bills had a 10-point lead with 9:46 remaining when they got the ball at their own 16-yard line after a Taylor Rapp interception. They needed a long, sustained drive and they got it.
Buffalo ended up going 13 plays, gaining 84 yards, converting three third downs, and taking 6:42 off the clock before scoring, essentially, the game-sealing touchdown.
P - Sam Martin
Martin only punted twice, but those two averaged 54.5 yards per-punt! The Colts started those two drives at their own nine- and own three-yard line.
That was a big help for the Bills defense.
DE - Greg Rousseau
Rousseau had a big strip-sack of Colts quarterback Joe Flacco, and finished with four total tackles, the sack, forced fumble, and another quarterback hit.
DB - Cam Lewis
The Bills played quite a bit of dime defense, especially in the second half, bringing Lewis on the field as the sixth defensive back.
He made several key plays in coverage, helping to force Flacco to stay in the pocket long enough for pressure to get there.
Lewis finished the game with five total tackles.
DT - Quinton Jefferson
In Jefferson's first game back in a Bills uniform, he made one of the plays of the game.
With just a couple minutes left in the third quarter and the Bills holding a seven-point lead, Jefferson was able to get through to Flacco and sack him on a big fourth down stand.
Buffalo ended up extending its lead to 10 points shortly after.
WR - Mack Hollins
Hollins made some big-time plays, including a 44-yard catch down the field with the presence of mind to get up and go out of bounds to preserve time on the clock late in the first half.
He finished the game with four catches for 86 yards, averaging 21.5 yards per-grab.
TE - Dawson Knox
Knox had two catches for 40 yards, including a huge 34-yard over-the-shoulder grab that helped lead to a touchdown for Buffalo.
He also had to play more snaps in the second half after Dalton Kincaid left with a knee injury.
K - Tyler Bass
Bass was perfect on his kicks, nailing three field goals, including a 47-yarder, and two extra points.
Third down offense and defense
The Bills did a nice job on third downs on both sides of the ball, converting 7-of-14 (50%) on offense and holding the Colts to 4-of-11 (36.4%) on defense.
Red zone defense
The Colts were inside the Bills' 20-yard line four times, but only came away with two touchdowns (50%).
ARROW DOWN:
QB - Josh Allen
Allen was very up-and-down in this game, completing 22-of-37 passes (59.5%) for 280 yards and throwing two bad interceptions. While he failed to throw a touchdown pass, he did run for 50 yards and a touchdown.
The Bills quarterback finished with 320 yards of total offense on the day.
Where’s Ray Davis?
The rookie running back, once again, wasn’t involved in the offense. He carried the ball just three times for only six yards.
It seemed like the Bills could have used his physical running style at times throughout the game.
PR/DB - Brandon Codrington
Right after the Colts took a 13-10 lead, Codrington fumbled the kickoff return, and fortunately the Bills recovered it.
Then when he got a chance to play on defense late in the game, he gave up a touchdown catch to Alec Pierce.
Red zone offense
The Bills had the ball inside the Colts' 20-yard line four times, but only came away with two touchdowns (50%).
First half run defense/Jonathan Taylor
In the first half, Taylor had 107 yards rushing on 16 carries. The Colts, as a team, had 114 yards on 17 carries, averaging 7.7 yards per-carry.
Letting early lead slip away
The Bills were up 10-0 with 5:33 left in the first half and in total control. However, a series of mistakes and big plays allowed the Colts to not only erase that deficit, but even take a 13-10 lead with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
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