Rapid rewind: Lions let Colts beat themselves, cruising to 24-6 win

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Indianapolis — It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t need to be.

The Detroit Lions let the Indianapolis Colts repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot with penalties, overthrows and a dropped touchdown pass, cruising to a 24-6 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

The Colts offense came out swinging, but after stalling in the red zone and settling for a short field goal, the unit went into hibernation, scoring just three more points the rest of the game.

The Lions, meanwhile, coming off a record-setting offensive performance against the Jaguars this week, struggled to find any semblance of that rhythm against the Colts. Regardless, back-to-back touchdown drives in the second quarter proved to be more than enough.

All three of Detroit’s touchdowns came on the ground, with Jahmyr Gibbs scoring twice and David Montgomery adding another.

With the win, the Lions move to 10-1 on the season. The Colts drop to 4-7 with the defeat.

Game ball

Detroit’s defense can share the honor. Overcoming yet another devastating injury with linebacker Alex Anzalone breaking his arm last Sunday, and finishing the game with two backups playing cornerback, the team held the opposition out of the end zone for a second straight week.

Scoring summary

First quarter

● 8:53 — Leaning heavily on the legs of Richardson, the Colts moved quickly into the red zone on the game’s opening possession before stalling inside the 5-yard line. Under pressure, Richardson’s third-down pass sailed out of the end zone, leaving the Colts to take a 27-yard Matt Gay field goal to grab the early lead. COLTS 3, LIONS 0

Second quarter

● 12:07 — Sparked by a 27-yard catch-and-run for Tim Patrick on a broken play and a 17-yard Jahmyr Gibbs' handoff to convert a third-and-8, the Lions got on the board with a 3-yard scoring run for Gibbs around the left side of the formation. LIONS 7, COLTS 3

● 8:16 —It was a rough series for Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor, who got the start in place of the injured Terrion Arnold. The backup corner got beat for a third-down conversion, followed by a 40-yard completion to Colts receiver Alec Pierce. The home team should have gone ahead, but tight end Drew Ogletree dropped a sure touchdown, leaving the Colts to settle for another short field goal from Gay. LIONS 7, COLTS 6

● 3:34 — Efficiently working into the red zone, the Lions faced third-and-6 at the top of the red zone and once again handed the ball off, this time to David Montgomery. As he often does, he barreled through multiple tackle attempts for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, the veteran back smashed his way into the end zone, twisting and reaching the ball across the goal line while in the grasp of a Colts defender. LIONS 14, COLTS 6

Third quarter

● 2:19 — Jared Goff completed his first five passes for 57 yards, overcoming a fumble in the middle of that stretch. Gibbs put the finishing touches on the drive with his second touchdown run, bouncing around the right side for the 5-yard score. LIONS 21, COLTS 6

Fourth quarter

● 6:21 — A nail in the coffin, Lions kicker Jake Bates stayed perfect on the season, drilling a 56-yarder to push the lead to three scores. LIONS 24, COLTS 6

Turnovers

● None

Key stats

● Goff completed 26-of-36 for 269 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

● Gibbs racked up 90 yards and two touchdowns with 21 carries.

● Three receivers topped 50 yards with Jameson Williams pacing the group with five grabs for 64 yards.

● Jack Campbell led the Lions with nine tackles and two pass breakups.

Notable

● The Lions have scored a rushing touchdown in 22 consecutive regular season games. That’s the second-longest streak during the Super Bowl era. The Chargers once scored on the ground in 24 straight games.

● The Colts had 97 yards wiped out by five offensive penalties.

● This marks the first time in franchise history the Lions have won 10 games in back-to-back seasons.

● Sunday was the first time the Lions have held back-to-back opponents out of the end zone since 1999.

Injuries

● During a punt return in the third quarter, return man Kalif Raymond was slow to get up. He was able to walk to the sideline, but was carted to the locker room with a foot injury and ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

● Three plays after Raymond’s injury, left tackle Taylor Decker had to leave the game for the remainder of the offensive series to have knee and ankle injuries evaluated. After a lengthy period in the medical tent, he was able to return to the game for the start of the next offensive possession.

● Montgomery left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. He returned from a locker room evaluation with his helmet, but didn’t come back into the game.

● Cornerback Carlton Davis left with a knee injury in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.

Inactives

The Lions swapped backup guards, making rookie Christian Mahogany active and scratching Kayode Awosika from the lineup. Also inactive were Arnold, defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, offensive tackle Colby Sorsdal and defensive tackle Brodric Martin.

Arnold was ruled out with a groin injury on Saturday. The others were healthy scratches. Martin, who was activated off injured reserve this week, remains behind Pat O’Connor on the depth chart, with the veteran providing special teams contributions that add to his game-day value.

Next game

The Lions return home for a Thanksgiving matchup against the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is Thursday, 12:30 p.m.