Buffalo 44, Colts 20
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE
Harnish suffered an interception on the second play of the possession. Jumal Rolle pirated the pass and returned it 17 yards for a score to move Buffalo's advantage to 44-20 with 5:01 left.
Buffalo moved for three first downs to reach the Indianapolis 12. The Colts defense stiffened at the five. On fourth down, teamed with Kaufman for a score with 5:18 to go. The Bills used 12 plays to go 65 yards in 4:34. Buffalo 37, Colts 20.
The Colts could not move on the possession and punted to Buffalo. The Bills started at their 35 with the change of possession.
Buffalo started at its 16. Tuel hit an 18-yard pass to DeMarco Sampson to start the drive. A holding period stalled the drive and Buffalo punted to Indianapolis, with the Colts taking possession at their 20 with 10:51 left.
Buffalo reached the Colts' 24 when Caesar Rayford stripped Tuel on a third-down attempt. Daxton Swanson picked up the ball and ran 72 yards untouched for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 30-20 with 13:46 remaining.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
Tuel converted a second-and-19 with a 29-yard completion to Brandon Kaufman to end the period.
The Colts had two incompletions before Harnish was sacked at his one-yard line. McAfee punted 51 yards and Buffalo was flagged on the return to start the possession at the Indianapolis 48.
Buffalo failed to move in three plays and Brian Stahovich's punt was downed at the Indianapolis 10.
Indianapolis took over at its eight after a bobbled kickoff return. It was a three-and-out possession for the Colts, with Harnish taking two post-throw hits. McAfee punted 46 yards and Buffalo started at the Colts' 48 after an 11-yard return.
Tuel hit Easley on a nine-yard pass to start the drive with a first down. He then hit Easley for 18 yards, and the Colts were called for roughing Tuel. From the Colts' 32, Tuel converted another third down with a pass to Easley to the Indianapolis 18. The drive ended with a fumbled snap at the Colts' 11, and Rian Lindell hit a 30-yard field goal. Buffalo moved 68 yards in 11 plays in 3:58 on the clock. Buffalo 30, Colts 13 with 4:39 left in the period.
Harnish connected with Whalen for 14 yards to start the drive. Delone Carter rushed for eight yards before Harnish missed a deep throw. A Harnish completion to Nathan Palmer did not produce a first down. McAfee punted 57 yards for a touchback.
Cassius Vaughn has a wrist injury and his return is questionable. Montori Hughes is questionable to return with a burner.
Jeff Tuel opened the half for Buffalo at QB. Tuel hit a 29-yard pass to Marcus Easley on third down to move the chains. The Bills converted another first down when Marshay Green was called for pass interference at the Colts' 24. Tuel and Easley combined for another first down on a completion to the Colts' 9. Buffalo went no huddle for two rushes before Tuel hit Da'Rick Rogers on a six-yard scoring pass 4:27 into the quarter. It was 11 plays, 80 yards. Buffalo 27, Colts 13.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATE
Buffalo moved to its 32 after an Indianapolis personal foul penalty. Manuel had an eight-yard completion for a first down at the Buffalo 45 with 1:08 to go. The Bills took their second time out after a reception to the Colts' 35 with 36 seconds left. Buffalo gained a first down to the Indianapolis 30 after a defensive holding call. Manuel hit Dorin Dickerson on a 17-yard pass with 14 seconds left to end the drive. Buffalo moved 92 yards in 10 plays, taking 1:36 possession time. Buffalo 30, Colts 13.
The Colts started at their eight after Kerwynn Williams returned the kickoff from eight yards deep. Williams converted a first down with a rush. Harnish converted a 17-yard pass to Justice Cunningham. Griff Whalen had an eight-yard catch on second down. With a jumbo set, Harnish hit Dominique Jones for a first down. A holding call stalled the possession at the Colts' 46. McAfee punted to the Buffalo 8 with 1:50 left in the half.
Linebacker Quenton Spears is out for the Colts with a hamstring injury.
Buffalo tied the game in 13 seconds when Goodwin returned the kickoff 107 yards for a touchdown. It came after his 53-yarder earlier.
Indianapolis took over at its 40 after the kickoff went out of bounds. Chandler Harnish entered at QB. Harnish scrambled six yards for first down to extend the drive. Harnish hit Robert Hughes for nine yards to the Buffalo 41, then hit LaVon Brazill for 11 yards. Griff Whalen had a four-yard catch on first down. Indianapolis stalled at the Buffalo 26, and Vinatieri hit a 44-yard field goal. It was a nine-play, 34 yard drive in 3:23. Indianapolis 13, Buffalo 6 with 7:42 left before halftime.
Buffalo moved to the Indianapolis five before the Colts stood. Hopkins converted a 23-yard field goal with 11:05 left in the period. Justin Hickman (foot) was injured on the drive. Buffalo used seven plays to cover 22 yards in 2:06.
Hasselbeck started his third possession but had a pass tipped an intercepted on the second play. Buffalo took over on the Colts' 27.
Buffalo was unable to move to start the quarter. Powell punted 46 yards to the Colts 26.
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FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
Indianapolis took its starting offensive line out to start the possession. Hasselbeck hit Dominique Jones for one yard, then Donald Brown for 22 yards. After a four-yard Brown rush, Hasselbeck teamed with Hilton on a 45-yard TD pass. Hilton made a diving catch and slid into the end zone to end the first quarter. Four plays, 72 yards, 1:39 clock time.
Marquise Goodwin returned the kickoff 53 yards before being stopped. Some of the Colts' second defensive unit is in. EJ Manuel scrambled 24 yards on third down to the Indianapolis 24. Manuel hit T.J. Graham for nine yards on first down. Kelvin Sheppard defensed a pass inside the Colts' 10. Vontae Davis stopped a sweep and Justin Hickman halted a pass on third down to force a field goal. The defensive stand kept the game at 3-3 after a 24-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins. It was a 46-yard drive in nine plays.
Matt Hasselbeck started the third possession. Hasselbeck missed to Darrium Heyward-Bey on first down, and Donald Brown rushed for five yards. Hasselbeck hit Hilton for seven yards to the Buffalo 12. Fleener had reception stripped on second down on the endline. On third down, Hasselbeck and Brown could not hook up. Adam Vinatieri hit a 25-yard field goal with 5:17 left for a 3-0 lead. Indianapolis kept its starting offensive line in on the drive. The scoring drive was seven plays, 18 yards in 1:52 of game time. Luck was four-of-six for 51 yards.
On second play of drive, Spiller bobbled the handoff and Aubrayo Franklin recovered at the Buffalo 24.
Luck, rolling left, hit Coby Fleener for 14 yards on first down. Mario Williams sacked Luck for 10 yards on the second play. Vick Ballard ran for 13 yards out of a three-WR set, and a personal foul penalty moved the ball to the Buffalo 38. Luck hit Fleener for 23 yards to the Buffalo 20, but Fleener fumbled to end the possession.
C.J. Spiller rushed for 17 yards to open the drive, then motored 15 more yards on second play. Kavell Conner and Robert Mathis halted a screen on third down to end the drive. Shawn Powell punted 55 yards, and T.Y. Hilton returned the punt 15 yards to the Colts' 30.
Andrew Luck hit Reggie Wayne on first play. Fullback Stanley Havili made an appearance on the third play, but rush was stuffed. Luck hit T.Y. Hilton, but missed to Wayne and the first possession ended. Pat McAfee punted 55 yards and Buffalo took over at its three-yard line.
Indianapolis won the coin toss and will receive. Buffalo defended the north goal-line.
COLTS PRE-GAME REPORT
The roof and window for Lucas Oil Stadium are open.
COLTS WHO WILL NOT PLAY:
TE-Dwayne Allen (foot)
S-LaRon Landry (knee)
S-Joe Lefeged (calf)
G-Hugh Thornton (ankle)
C/G-Khaled Holmes (ankle)
S-Sergio Brown (hamstring)
LB-Mario Harvey (hamstring)
S-Larry Asante (shoulder, AC joint)
LB-Jerrell Freeman (shoulder)
CB-Teddy Williams (quadriceps)
LB-Josh McNary (hamstring)
FB-Dan Moore (shoulder)
EXPECTED LINEUP CHANGES FOR COLTS:
Coby Fleener for Dwayne Allen at TE
Kavell Conner for Pat Angerer at MIKE LB
Justin Hickman for Jerrell Freeman at WILL LB
Delano Howell for LaRon Landry at FS
COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:
Today opens Chuck Pagano's second season at the club helm. He missed 12 games last year while fighting leukemia, so today will be his sixth outing on the Indianapolis sideline.
Colts and Bills are 3-3 all-time in preseason action, with Buffalo winning the last three. The last meeting was held in Toronto on August 19, 2010, with the Bills winning, 34-21, in Rogers Centre.
Indianapolis was 2-2 in preseason in 2012 and owns an overall preseason record of 147-134-4. The last winning preseason for Indianapolis was in 2003.
Today's game is the 300th for the Colts in Indianapolis, counting preseason, regular season and the playoffs. The Colts played from 1984-2007 in the Hoosier/RCA Dome and moved into Lucas Oil Stadium for 2008.
Buffalo was the Colts' first game ever in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Bills visited on August 24, 2008, taking a 20-7 victory.
The Colts and Bills were division rivals in the AFC East from 1970-2001 following the NFL Merger. The Colts moved to the AFC South in 2002 Realignment. Since moving divisions, the teams have met only in 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2012.
Buffalo owns a 35-31-1 overall series record, but the Colts have won eight of the last 10 regular-season meetings. The Colts were 12-7 against Buffalo in the Hoosier/RCA Dome and are 1-0 in Lucas Oil Stadium.
These teams met in Indianapolis last November 25, with the Colts taking a 20-13 victory. T.Y. Hilton in that game had a 75-yard scoring punt return to open the scoring, and he caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck early in the fourth quarter in what stood as the deciding points. Hilton became the first Colts player to score via punt return and reception in the same game.
