Colts lose to Ravens in preseason, 19-18

The Indianapolis Colts dropped their preseason home opener to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night. In a weird twist, the score was the exact same as last week’s but with the Colts on the losing side of a 19-18 final.

Andrew Luck made his preseason debut on Saturday. He only appeared in two series, but was very impressive in limited time. Luck was eight-for-eight for 71 yards and had two scrambles for 12 yards.

Luck looked comfortable and poised in the pocket, while rarely being harassed. He didn’t force plays and was patient with the ball. Luck didn’t even have the safety of T.Y. Hilton, who took the night off.

Phillip Dorsett and Donte Moncrief started with Luck, and both had solid outings in limited work. Dorsett finished the night with three receptions for 37 yards. Moncrief had two for 25.

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Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien had a much better game than last week. He completed 13-of-18 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.

The Colts are still waiting on who will emerge at backup running back. Frank Gore only had a few snaps Saturday featuring one carry for five yards and a beautiful blitz pickup. Robert Turbin got the bulk of the work behind Gore, but only managed 18 yards on seven carries.

Josh Ferguson, who was the darling of training camp, has failed to impress through two games. He had just six yards on five carries and struggled in pass protection. He did manage two receptions for 13 yards.

On defense, T.Y. McGill continued to impose his will on offensive lines. He notched another sack and landed a couple hits on the Raven’s quarterbacks. McGill continues to press the pocket and generally make life uncomfortable for whoever has the ball on the opposing team.

Safety Winston Guy, who is fighting for a backup roster spot, made a nice break for an interception that set the Colts up in scoring position.

Despite the small pockets of solid play, the name of the game was penalties for the Colts Saturday night. They finished with eight for 96 yards. Most of the mistakes are correctable, but many of them either killed offensive drives or kept the ball in the Raven’s hands.

The Colts briefly managed to take the lead in the fourth quarter off a great drive by Stephen Morris. But with the score at 18-17, the Colts opted to go for two and Morris threw an interception that was run back for a touchdown. Per the rules, a defensive score on a two-point attempt results in a safety, thus the Ravens took a 19-18 lead.

The Colts had one final shot, but a 63-yard field goal attempt from Pat McAfee fell short.

Up next, the Colts will host the Eagles on Saturday at 7:00PM.