Theresa May – Over the course of Sunday's game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Colts were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 29-10, which prevented them from further establishing their position in the AFC playoff picture.
Jonathan Taylor's one-yard score capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive that gave the Colts an early lead. After that drive, the offense struggled to get its footing and didn't score again until Matt Gay's 33-yard field goal at 4:23 in the third quarter.
Between the two Colts scores, Atlanta scored 20 unanswered points, averaging 7.6 yards per play and scoring touchdowns of 24 yards (Taylor Heinicke pass to Kyle Pitts) and 31 yards (Tyler Allgeier sprint).
Younghoe Koo's field goal off the right upright was disallowed by CB Ameer Speed's offsides penalty. Atlanta got a first down and Koo kicked a 23-yard field goal a few plays later.
Heinicke threw eight throws of 10 or more yards to eight guys and four players had 10-yard carries in scoring 20 unanswered points.
However, the Falcons answered the Colts' three scores with a field goal. Jonnu Smith's third-and-14 catch-and-run started the drive, and Koo's 41-yard field goal put the Falcons up 13 early in the fourth quarter.
The Colts' next drive ended with Minshew throwing incomplete on fourth and four, and the Falcons took the game away for the rest of the quarter.
The Bengals defeated 34-11 against the Steelers on Saturday, enabling the Colts advance in the AFC wild card. Colts' 6-4 conference record, which stayed constant Sunday, giving them a tiebreaker against AFC's 8-7 teams. Because of Week 14's Colts loss in Cincinnati, the Bengals would rank higher if they finish with the same record and no other wild card teams do.