The fans in Germany were treated to a highly entertaining early game on Sunday, with the Colts coming out on top 28-25 in overtime.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was the star of the show, carrying 32 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including the overtime game-winner.
It was a wild, back-and-forth battle that saw the teams trade touchdowns and the Falcons take a late fourth-quarter lead, only to have Colts kicker Michael Badgley hit a field goal with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game 25-25 and send it into overtime.
After the referee initially botched the overtime coin toss, the Falcons eventually won the re-flip and elected to receive, but their offense couldn’t move the ball and punted after the opening possession. From there the Colts marched the ball down the field, with Taylor doing the bulk of the work and reaching the end zone to win it.
Falcons wide receiver Drake London had 104 receiving yards in defeat, and running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier both played well. But Michael Penix struggled with his accuracy and couldn’t move the Falcons’ offense consistently enough.
The Colts improve to 8-2 and remain very much in contention to earn home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Falcons fall to 3-6 and are falling out of the NFC South race.
Referee Clete Blakeman is having a bad game today in Germany.
Blakeman botched the Falcons-Colts overtime coin toss, declaring Indianapolis the visiting team and allowing the Colts to choose heads or tails. The Colts won the toss and elected to receive.
One problem: The Colts are not the visiting team. The Colts are designated as the home team in Berlin. The Falcons are the visiting team.
While NFL Network was on a commercial, the league fixed the mistake, re-did the coin toss, and this time the Falcons won the toss and received. Viewers at home didn’t see the coin toss that actually counted.
Blakeman had already screwed up at the end of the fourth quarter, with regulation ending on a Falcons intentional grounding penalty. Blakeman announced that there was a 10-second runoff that would end the game (actually there were 11 seconds left), he announced that the Falcons had no timeouts so they couldn’t avoid the runoff (actually the Falcons did have two timeouts left), and he announced that the game was over (actually the fourth quarter was over but the game was still on). That mistake didn’t matter much because the Falcons chose not to use their timeout and let the fourth quarter lapse, but it was still an error an NFL referee shouldn’t make.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor just turned the game around in Germany.
With the Colts trailing in the fourth quarter and deep in their own territory, Taylor took a handoff, shifted behind the line of scrimmage and found an opening to the left, then raced down the sideline for an 83-yard touchdown. It was the longest run in the NFL this season and tied for the longest run of Taylor’s career. It also gave Taylor the Colts franchise record for most touchdown runs.
Taylor now has 210 yards today.
Taylor got some tremendous downfield blocking from wide receiver Alec Pierce and tight end Tyler Warren, who escorted him to the end zone.
The Colts failed on the two-point conversion and now have a 22-17 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Colts and Falcons are trading touchdowns in Berlin.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier each scored on one-yard runs early, and then Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce caught a 37-yard touchdown pass, followed by Drake London catching a 16-yard touchdown pass.
Indianapolis kicker Michael Badgley missed an extra point, and that’s the difference in the Falcons’ 14-13 lead.
Colts quarterback Daniel Jones and Falcons quarterback Michael Penix are both playing well, and the fans in Europe are getting treated to a good game of American football.
The Colts scored first in Berlin today, but it didn’t take the Falcons long to answer.
Indianapolis got the ball in good field position when Cam Bynum strip-sacked Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix and Germaine Pratt recovered, and from there the Colts’ offense took over.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor scored on a one-yard touchdown run, the 64th rushing touchdown of his career, which ties Edgerrin James’ franchise record.
Michael Badgley missed the extra point, so the Colts led 6-0.
But on the ensuing possession, the Falcons marched right down the field, going 81 yards in five plays and finishing with a Tyler Allgeier one-yard touchdown run. The Falcons made the extra point to take a 7-6 lead.
