Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
Colts shock Chiefs with relentless defense, smashmouth running
These sure weren’t the same Indianapolis Colts from a week ago.
Distancing themselves dramatically from the stench of an ugly home loss, the Colts somehow pulled off a Sunday night stunner on the road with a 19-13 upset of the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
What was thought to be a beleaguered Colts defense missing three key starters as well as other regulars kept Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in check for much of a eyebrow-raising night in which they sacked the NFL MVP four times. He had taken just three sacks in the previous four games.
The NFL’s No. 1 offense was held to nearly three touchdowns below its season average by a Colts defense that entered 25th in points allowed after a 31-24 home loss to the Oakland Raiders the previous week. The loss snaps a record streak of 25 consecutive games in which the Chiefs had scored 25 points and marked the lowest output in Mahomes' 22-game NFL career.
“We just couldn’t be happier,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said outside the locker room. “It changes the whole dimension of the conference.”
The Colts (3-2) enter a bye week tied with the Houston Texans atop the AFC South Division.
Former Chiefs standout pass rusher Justin Houston, a four-time Pro Bowl star in Kansas City who was allowed to sign with the Colts in the offseason, punctuated his homecoming by stopping a fourth-and-1 rush at the Chiefs 34 with 5:16 remaining that set up the final Vinatieri field goal. Houston also had his second sack of the season.
“This win means a lot to me,” Houston said on the field in an NBC TV interview. “I didn’t like how things ended here.”
Colts tight end Jack Doyle fielded an onside kick with 1:15 remaining to seal the outcome after the Chiefs (4-1) had closed to a six-point deficit with a late field goal.
“I did not know it was possible to hold them to 13,” Irsay said.
Who knew? The Colts were 10-point underdogs and counted among the missing injured defensive players linebacker Darius Leonard, the 2018 NFL leading tackler, who has missed three consecutive games with a concussion.
Mahomes dazzled early with his arm and scrambling ability, utilizing both to escape danger and throw a 27-yard TD pass to Byron Pingle for a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. It was the kind of special play that has set him apart from most who play his position.
But those plays proved to be too few in the end.
The Colts relied on a strong rushing attack to seize control with a 13-10 halftime lead. The Chiefs’ 30th-ranked rushing defense allowed 180 yards on 45 carries with running back Marlon Mack accounting for 132 yards on 29 carries.
Mahomes was limping around after re-injuring his left ankle in the first half. THen he got it stepped on by his own blocker. The Colts hadn’t registered a sack in the two previous games, but continually pressured the Chiefs passer, who didn’t have the same mobility as when he started, and took eight hits.
Where he rescued the Chiefs a week ago with a last-minute touchdown drive to rally past the Lions in Detroit, Mahomes couldn’t rescue his team this time.
Mahomes had entered as the league’s leading passer with 1,510 yards, and completed 22 of 39 passes for 321 yards and one TD.
His counterpart, Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett, scored his team’s only touchdown on a 1-yard rush for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.
When the Chiefs needed the ball back in the final quarter, the Colts minimized those touches with that time-consuming running game. The Colts dominated time of possession 37:15 to 22:45. The Chiefs barely had the ball in the second half, when the Colts ran 38 plays to their hosts' 19.
“At the end, when he had to grind it out, we grinded it out,” Colts head coach Frank Reich said. “Real credit to those guys up front and the backs. A great, great team win. Our best game of the year. Couldn’t be happier for our team.”
The victory was in stark contrast to the last time the Colts played at Arrowhead Stadium, a 31-13 loss in January’s AFC playoffs.
But Reich sensed this experience would be different. He considered the week’s practices the best of the season.
“We were hungry all week,” Reich said. “There was something different about this week. I think we all felt it. I could feel it. It was palpable. We walked in here with a lot of confidence.
“I just knew it was real. I felt it all week. We’ve got a good team.”
