The Colts' 30-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 was defined by four turnovers and a key turnover on downs, which came when quarterback Joe Flacco was sacked on a fourth-and-two late in the third quarter.
Flacco threw a pick-six on the Colts' first play of the game on offense – an "awful" decision, he said, which led to Bills cornerback Taron Johnson taking the interception to the house. Flacco's other two interceptions and his lost fumble all came in Bills territory on drives on which the Colts had at least two first downs.
"Today it was just turnovers, mostly," Flacco said. "There were times where we could get going and then turned the ball over."
After a 58-yard run by running back Jonathan Taylor sparked the Colts to climb out of an early 10-0 hole to take a 13-10 lead midway through the second quarter, the Bills were able to rip off 20 unanswered points between late in the first half and the middle of the fourth quarter.
Part of that run was the Colts' turnover on downs. Facing a fourth-and-two on the Bills' 20-yard line with just under three minutes left in the third quarter – and with the Bills leading, 20-13 – Flacco was sacked by defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson, resulting in a loss of 10 yards and a turnover on downs.
"I felt good about it right there going for it, trying to get the points," head coach Shane Steichen said. "Obviously it didn't work out. It was 13-20 right there, trying to get the game tied there in that situation instead of taking that field goal. Obviously didn't convert it."
"They did a good job covering everything up and passing things off," Flacco said. "Went through the progression and then tried to buy some time and just didn't work out."
Flacco finished the afternoon 26/35 (74.3 percent) for 272 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions, four sacks and a passer rating of 79.7. Steichen after the game said Flacco remains the Colts' starting quarterback.
"Obviously just a guy that's a veteran guy," Steichen said. "We've had the two games that he'd like to have back but we'll keep battling through it and see where it goes."
The Colts' defense picked off Bills quarterback Josh Allen twice – he had thrown only two picks coming into Week 10 – with linebacker EJ Speed and cornerback Kenny Moore II coming down with those takeaways. The Bills were able to pull away late in the game, though, thanks to two possessions in the final 18 minutes of the game that generated 10 points and churned 13:29 off the game clock.
On six third or fourth down plays over those final two drives, the Bills generated four first downs, kicked a field goal and averaged 9.8 yards per play.
"Defensively we've gotta get off the field, but he (Allen) made some big-time plays and obviously they benefitted from it," defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. "And we gotta find ways on defense to create more turnovers and get off the field in key situations."
The Colts fell to 4-6 with the loss, though they're still just one game behind the Denver Broncos (5-5) for the final AFC wild card spot. Sunday's defeat was the Colts' first loss by more than one possession all season; they'll enter Week 11 with a neutral turnover differential (17 giveaways, 17 takeaways).
"We have our moments — like I said, we turn the ball over and it's hard to win when you lose the turnover battle," Steichen said. "We haven't done a good job with that and that's going to be a big point of emphasis going forward. We talk about it every week, preach it, but we gotta do better at it for sure."
