BALTIMORE – Zack Moss wasn't letting anything take him off the field at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Moss might've been banged up a bit. It didn't matter. There was no way he wasn't going to churn out yards and get physical with stout Baltimore Ravens defense. Not on Sunday, when the Colts needed every blade of grass to emerge with a 22-19 Week 3 victory.
"I can never quit on these guys," Moss said. "Twice I was down for a little second and had to shake it off and get back out there and grind this out."
Moss carried 30 times (a career high) for 122 yards (also a career high) and caught a 17-yard touchdown from quarterback Gardner Minshew on Sunday. He played 64 snaps, and didn't let his workload or anything else get to him as the game went on.
Late in overtime, Moss delivered a punch that put the Ravens on the ropes. On the first play after Lamar Jackson threw incomplete for a turnover on downs, Moss rushed for a 13-yard gain to move the ball inside the Baltimore 40-yard line. He gained five more yards on his next three carries, teeing up Matt Gay to connect on a walk-off 53-yard field goal, delivering the Colts their second win of the Shane Steichen era.
"That's kind of an embodiment of who our team is and who we want to be," Minshew said. "And now you need individual efforts like to show the team that's how its done and he's so competitive, so hard working. Really, really glad we got him."
The Colts have unlocked something in Moss since he entered their starting lineup in Week 16 of the 2022 season. He always had talent – that's what made him a third-round pick of the Bills in 2020 – but he averaged just 4.1 yards per carry in three seasons in Buffalo.
But over his last five games, Moss 93 carries for 463 yards (5.0 yards/attempt) with three total touchdowns. He forced 11 missed tackles on Sunday against the Ravens, per Pro Football Focus, and now has made 34 defenders whiff since entering the Colts' starting lineup.
"My mindset was going to be, be physical," Moss said. "It's a great, great defense we just played. Great linebackers — got a lot of respect for both of those dudes (Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen). Just had to be physical and wear them out all game long."
And when the Colts needed Moss, he came through – again.
"He's got a low level of gravity just the way his body is set up," head coach Shane Steichen said. "I mean, he finds those creases, and then he's able to shed those tackles and make guys miss and break those tackles, just with his body type. He's a heck of a player."
