With a cold, steady rain coming down at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Indianapolis Colts brought the heat in the form of running back Jonathan Taylor who rushed all over the Bills defense in the Colts’ 41-15 win over Buffalo.
The first half has not been kind to the Bills ever since the bye week, but on Sunday, it wasn’t only the Buffalo offense that was struggling.
While the Bills defense has normally been stout in the first quarter, the Colts scored a touchdown on their opening possession and then capitalized on a Josh Allen interception with another touchdown, effectively snapping the Bills 13-game streak of preventing opponents from scoring touchdowns in the first quarter.
Nothing went right on either side of the ball for the Bills in this one. Allen and the offense couldn’t get on the same page, with the $258M quarterback having his worst outing of the season. Allen would finish the game 21 of 35 for 209 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. He completed just seven passes in the second half.
Along with the rough offensive performance, the Buffalo defense could not stop Taylor, who ran for an impressive 185 yards and had a hand in 5 touchdowns, four rushing and one TD catch. Prior to the Colts game, the Bills defense had only given up an average of 83 yards per game on the ground.
The Bills move to 6-4 on the season, the Colts move to 6-5.
GAME RECAP LINKS:
- Colts 41, Bills 15 | Game recap, highlights & photos (BuffaloBills.com)
- Rapid Recap: Indianapolis Colts crush Buffalo Bills, 41-15 (BuffaloRumblings.com)
- Jonathan Taylor runs all over Bills in 41-15 rout (WIVB.com)
- 5 takeaways from the Bills’ 41-15 loss to the Colts (BillsWire.com)
- Takeaways: Buffalo Bills embarrassed again, losing 41-15 to Colts (BuffaloRumblings.com)
MEDIA:
Well, it's over. #INDvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/wV7uJCyBom
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
Coach McDermott: Our fundamentals have to be better. We turned the ball over four times today and it’s tough to win football games when you lose the turnover battle. #INDvsBUF pic.twitter.com/J2cG9WP4Na
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
QB Josh Allen: I have a lot of trust and faith in this team. How we played today is not who we are. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/dKUd6Rglku
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
We're live for Bills Tonight with comments from HC Sean McDermott, QB Josh Allen and more after our loss to the Colts. #INDvsBUF https://t.co/Qq8U6qQUv9
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
Toe tap touchdown!
?: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/zoRX62Ghh8
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
Second touchdown of the day for Diggs!
?: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/BroGLFKZKi
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
Beast Mode in Buffalo. ?#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/CwoeLvbTwd
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
About that time. ?#INDvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/rQOHsWmxNF
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 21, 2021
Caron Wentz has 106 yards passing. The Colts have scored 41 points.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) November 21, 2021
When the conditions are at play – rain, snow, wind, etc. – and you can't play a physical brand of football… and I don't even mean simply running the ball, just at the LOS… you're going to struggle. The Bills are a soft football team. I think that's just reality. Not bad, soft
— Nate Geary (@NateGearySports) November 21, 2021
The #Bills haven't won back to back games in over a month, just inexcusable with their talent.
— Jenna Cottrell (@JennaCottrell) November 21, 2021
Here's Sean McDermott on not stopping the run: "We’ve got to get that fixed. There’s a formula to win and there’s a formula on the other end of it too. And when you’re giving up… when we’re getting beat at the point of attack, obviously, I have to do a better job there."
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) November 21, 2021
Sean McDermott when asked about COVID issues forcing the Bills to be without Star Lotulelei and Spencer Brown today: "Again, I respect those guys decisions, and I want to talk about the guys that were here."
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) November 21, 2021
Josh Allen following todays game: that's not who we are……we're not hitting the panic button #BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/e26il0YQDH
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) November 21, 2021
“Think it goes into the category of flush.” – Dion Dawkins#Bills
— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) November 21, 2021
Dawson Knox: "We've seen how resilient we are. We've got the parts we need to succeed. You learn a lot from games like these. I think it's good to have a game coming up quick to get this bad taste out of our mouths."
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) November 21, 2021
IND 41 – 15 BUF
FinalThat's Scorigami!! It's the 1070th unique final score in NFL history.
— Scorigami (@NFL_Scorigami) November 21, 2021
Nobody had that on their bingo cards 10 games into the season. https://t.co/TfOPHW4EKg
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) November 21, 2021
The #Bills' 264 rushing yards allowed today is the most in a game since the Patriots gained 273 on the ground on Dec. 23, 2018.
— Jay Skurski (@JaySkurski) November 21, 2021
I'm starting to think #Sabres-Calgary was a better matchup than #Bills-Indy.
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) November 21, 2021
The #Bills had 13 rushing attempts today. That's the fewest in any game under Sean McDermott.
— Jay Skurski (@JaySkurski) November 21, 2021
This better be a wake up call for my @BuffaloBills. We lost the line of scrimmage today on both sides of the ball. Better to learn this lesson now then in January. #INDvsBUF
— Michael Robinson (@RealMikeRob) November 21, 2021
McDermott: I’m confident in Isaiah as a returner but as a team we have to take better care of the football. Hard to win not taking care of the ball. #Bills
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) November 21, 2021
Micah Hyde says the Bills are very disappointed. Said media knows all the answers to the questions that are coming. Have to stop run. Didn’t put Wentz in tough situations. “They have a good run game and we weren’t able to stop it.”
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) November 21, 2021
GAME PREVIEW:
In the last two weeks the Bills and the Colts have both played the Jets and the Jaguars. The Colts won both matchups, while the Bills split. The two play each other in Week 11 as they face off for the first time since Buffalo beat them in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last season.
GAME PREVIEW LINKS:
- Top 7 storylines to follow for Bills vs. Colts | Week 11 (BuffaloBills.com)
- Bills’ Jordan Poyer: Colts’ Jonathan Taylor probably ‘hardest runner we’ve seen’ (BillsWire.com)
- Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts broadcast map (BuffaloRumblings.com)
- Bills vs. Colts: 7 storylines to follow in Week 11 (BillsWire.com)
- 7 things to watch for in Bills vs. Colts | Week 11 (BuffaloBills.com)
- Stefon Diggs expecting Colts to play with fuel from playoff loss to Bills (BillsWire.com)
- Buffalo Bills opponent preview: Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (BuffaloRumblings.com)
- NFL analysts | Bills vs. Colts game predictions | Week 11 (BuffaloBills.com)
- Tremaine Edmunds questionable for Buffalo Bills against Indianapolis Colts (BuffaloRumblings.com)
MEDIA:
#LeadingTheCharge: Week 11 (#INDvsBUF) game release: https://t.co/4zrNjUIDb7
? Highmark Stadium
? 1 PM EST
? CBS (Kevin Harlan, Trent Green & Melanie Collins)
? @WGR550 / @CompassMediaNet pic.twitter.com/k6rIiHD2En— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) November 16, 2021
Home blue for Sunday. ?@EnergyMark | #INDvsBUF pic.twitter.com/XkKrD6mWr4
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 17, 2021
Focused on Sunday. ?
Best #INDvsBUF Practice Photos: https://t.co/p1r4MpKi8M
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 18, 2021
#RoundingUpTheHerd: Since becoming a member of the @buffalobills in 2020, @stefondiggs leads the #NFL in both receptions (183) and receiving yards (2,285). #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/8CV0HW2hex
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) November 19, 2021
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].