None of the Colts' starters played Saturday night in the team's preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, but the rest of the roster stepped up in a big way to beat the Cardinals 21-13.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start, as both teams elected to rest their starters following two days of joint practices and neither the Cardinals' starting quarterback Clayton Tune nor the Colts' starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger were able to get anything going on their first drives. The Cardinals' first two drives ended with punt returns and, after Ehlinger was sacked on a second-down play, his 11-yard scramble on the next play brought the Colts one yard short of a first down and forced a punt return.

It was after that drive, however, when the Colts kicked into gear. A definitive sack by defensive end Isaiah Land forced another punt return by Arizona, and with the punt placing the Colts at their own 41-yard line – a flag on the Cardinals for a player out of bounds added a five-yard gain – they were in perfect position to capitalize.

They did just that, as Ehlinger led a nine-play, 59-yard drive down the field for the first touchdown of the game. On the drive, Ehlinger alternated between handoffs to running back Tyler Goodson and deep passes to his wide receivers. Ehlinger, after escaping heavy pressure in the pocket, found a wide-open Tyrie Cleveland for a 22-yard gain that placed the Colts at Arizona's 27-yard line.

Ehlinger himself ran the ball for a 10-yard gain a few plays later, and a handoff to Goodson sealed the deal for an eight-yard touchdown. Matt Gay's kick was good, and the Colts went up 7-0 after the three-minute and 52-second drive.

The Cardinals tried to get back in the game – and past the 50-yard line – on the following drive, but a third-down sack from defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore stopped them short at their own 47-yard line.

Just a few plays later, however, a fumble by wide receiver Anthony Gould, forced by Cardinals' cornerback Kei'Trel Clark, put the ball back in Arizona's hands as the first quarter came to an end.

The Cardinals quickly worked their way into the redzone as the second quarter began, but three straight offensive holding calls and an incomplete pass kept pushing the first-down marker back and Arizona's first points of the game came on a 40-yard field goal. The 10-play, 23-yard drive took four minutes and 43 seconds.

The two teams traded possessions for the next eight minutes, until the Cardinals went on a five-yard, 41-yard drive to score their first touchdown of the game and take 10-7 lead. On the previous drive, an offensive holding penalty pushed the Colts back to their own nine-yard line and a pass from quarterback Jason Bean to Montgomery was intercepted right in front of the Colts sideline. The momentum shifted over to Arizona, and Tune marched his offense down the field accordingly.

Arizona held the lead, and momentum, going into halftime.

Bean wasn't going to let them keep it, however, and promptly led a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the Colts' first possession of the second half. Bean connected with wide receiver Laquon Treadwell three times on the drive and worked in tandem with running back Zavier Scott on rushing plays. Scott rushed 10 yards for a first down early in the drive, and he was the one to carry the ball into the endzone for the touchdown and put the Colts back on top.

The Cardinals responded with a drive downfield on the following series but settled for a field goal. The Colts, eager extend their lead, brought Lucas Oil Stadium to life with a nine-play, 66-yard drive that brought them within inches of the endzone right as the whistle blew to signify the end of the third quarter. The drive, led by Bean once again, started with a 30-yard punt return from Goodson and featured a deep pass to tight end Jordan Murray and 12-yard rushing play from Bean himself.

Bean, in fact, was the one to scramble into the endzone for the Colts' third touchdown of the night, showing off the speed his teammates have been so vocal about.

Quarterback Kaden Slovis came into the game on the Colts' following series and stayed at the helm for the remainder of the game. Slovis showed off his arm and his accuracy with multiple impressive completions to wide receivers including Derek Slywka and Laquon Treadwell, and Scott continued to catch the Cardinals defense off guard on the run game.

Despite their best efforts, the Colts didn't score again and won Saturday's game by a final score of 21-13.