National Football League
Indianapolis 38, Tennessee 30
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 22, 2024
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: John Hussey
Attendance: 65322

Jonathan Taylor rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries Sunday as the Indianapolis Colts kept their slim AFC playoff hopes alive by holding off the visiting Tennessee Titans, 38-30.

Indianapolis (7-8) trails the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos by two games for the final wild-card spots. It would have to win the last two games and hope for both teams to lose the last two games in order to have a chance to earn a playoff spot via tiebreakers.

Taylor's performance -- which came a week after he fumbled inside the 1-yard line to deny his team a sure touchdown in the third quarter of a 31-13 loss in Denver -- helped the Colts rush for a team-record 335 yards. Quarterback Anthony Richardson only had to throw 11 passes, completing seven for 131 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He added 70 yards and a score on the ground.

Mason Rudolph completed 23 of 34 passes for 252 yards with two scores and three picks for Tennessee (3-12). He led a comeback from a 38-7 third-quarter deficit that got the Titans within a score after Tyjae Spears' 2-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion pass with 2:53 left in the game.

But the Titans didn't get the ball back until just three seconds left, leaving them time for just a desperation pass. Rudolph was intercepted by Kenny Moore as time expired.

Tennessee initiated scoring at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter on Rudolph's 38-yard strike to Calvin Ridley. However, Indianapolis rattled off the next 38 points, including 24 in the second quarter.

Richardson tied it with 11:01 left in the half on a 5-yard run, followed by Taylor's 65-yard touchdown dash with 7:25 remaining. Matt Gay made it 17-7 on a 31-yard field goal with 2:09 on the clock, followed by Richardson's 27-yard scoring strike to Josh Downs 15 seconds before the break.

Taylor added 70- and 1-yard touchdown runs to increase the advantage to 38-7 with 6:50 left in the third quarter. Spears got the Titans back on the board with an 11-yard run at the 2:57 mark.

Rudolph cut it to 38-22 on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with 8:13 remaining in the game.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Tennessee   Indianapolis
Tony Pollard Player Jonathan Taylor
8 Attempts 29
35 Yards 218
4.4 Avg Yards 7.5
0 Touchdowns 3
17 Long 70
Receiving
Tennessee   Indianapolis
Chigoziem Okonkwo Player Josh Downs
9 Receptions 3
81 Yards 61
9.0 Avg Yards 20.3
0 Touchdowns 1
22 Long 31
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Tennessee 307 65 242 4 0 1 1.0 0
Indianapolis 458 335 123 5 1 3 1.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Indianapolis will play their next game on the road against N.Y. Giants. The Colts have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .625 after a loss.
  • Tennessee will play their next game on the road against Jacksonville. The Titans have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .273 after a loss.