Colts struggle with penalties, red zone offense in loss to Lions

Facing one of the most potent teams in the NFL in the Detroit Lions, the Colts struggled with penalties and red zone offense as they lost 24-6 on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts struck first, marching downfield on an 11-play, 61-yard drive for a field goal. Only one play was a pass – a nine-yard completion to wide receiver Josh Downs – and the rest were a variety of running plays. Richardson took the ball downfield himself multiple times, including a 17-yard rush and an eight-yard red zone run in which the QB1 looked more like a running back with his willingness to barrel into his defenders.

On the Colts' following possession – the Lions were forced to punt the ball away after a sack by defensive tackle DeForest Buckner – the Colts began to lean more on pass plays, a trend that would continue throughout the game. However, a heave to wide receiver Alec Pierce was just beyond his fingertips and a leaping catch by tight end Kylen Granson was negated by a holding penalty, and the Colts were unable to get past their own 21-yard line on the possession.

The Colts' 3-0 lead held through the first quarter, but the Lions quickly made their way to the end zone and scored a touchdown within the first few minutes of the second quarter courtesy of a one-yard scamper from running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

A 39-yard dime to Pierce was the highlight of the Colts' following drive, but their offense stalled once again in the red zone and the Colts were forced to settle for another field goal.

The Lions entered Sunday's game with the most points scored in the second quarter (147), and proved just why their offense is so dangerous as running back David Montgomery trucked his way into the end zone for Detroit's second touchdown of the quarter.

At halftime, Richardson was 7-of-14 for 117 yards and Goff was 10-of-13 for 11 yards. Richardson also led the team with five carries for 36 yards. The Colts had 174 yards on offense to the Lions' 170 and averaged six yards per play to the Lions' 5.7. The biggest difference was the Lions had two touchdown drives, and the Colts had two field goal drives.

Goff and the Lions marched to the Colts' 14-yard line on their opening possession in the third quarter, but the Colts' defense buckled down in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs. However, the Colts continue to get burned by penalties as a 30-yard pass to Josh Downs was called back, and the Colts were forced to punt the ball.

The Colts' defense continued to struggle to stop the Lions in the middle of the field, and the Lions were able to score their third touchdown of the game as Gibbs jogged into the end zone for the second time.

Richardson tried to spark a positive possession for the Colts with a 17-yard run, but a third-down 20-yard pass to Downs later in the drive was negated by a holding penalty and the Colts were once again forced to punt the ball away. Through three quarters, the Colts had been flagged for a total of seven penalties with gains of 21, 19, seven, 30 and 20 negated by penalties.

The two teams traded possessions with the score remaining 21-6 until Lions kicker Jake Bates sailed a 56-yard field goal directly through the uprights with 6:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Richardson responded with a short scramble of his own followed up by a 22-yard completion to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. – the Colts gained an additional 15 yards on the play after Lions safety Brian Branch was flagged for unnecessary roughness. The Colts made their way to the Detroit 26-yard line, but were unable to convert on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs, and the Lions held the ball to win 24-6.