In Week 10, the Indianapolis Colts took on the Atlanta Falcons in what many assumed would be an easy win for Indy. While that may not have been the case, the Colts were still able to pull out the win in one of the most exciting international games of recent memory.
Atlanta proved a tough team to beat, with an offense that gashed Lou Anarumo's defense consistently through the air and on the ground. Drake London has been one of the premier receiving threats in the entire league in 2025, and it didn't help that he was able to abuse a mismatch against LB Germaine Pratt consistently throughout the game.
This is the NFL. It was an international game, and the Colts were without Charvarius Ward, Grover Stewart, and DeForest Buckner. Good teams win the ugly games, and that's what Indianapolis did in Week 10. So, let's get into the winners and losers of the game.
Jonathan Taylor is the best player in football, and it's not particularly close
Winner No. 1: Jonathan Taylor
What else can be said about the man who's already had everything said about him? In a season that has been truly one of the most amazing running back seasons in history, this is arguably Taylor's best performance of the year.
Taylor finished the day with 244 yards rushing and an extra 42 through the air, as well as 3 rushing touchdowns on the ground. One of those touchdowns came on the longest touchdown run that anybody in the NFL has had thus far into the season, and another was the game-winning score in overtime.
Jonathan Taylor is a talent that transcends position. The MVP is a quarterback's award, and has only become more quarterback-focused in recent years, but anybody who has watched the NFL this year knows that Taylor has been the most electric player in football. If any running back can win the award, it's him.
Winner No. 2: Tyler Warren
It feels absurd to be able to claim that Tyler Warren has an argument for being the best tight end in the NFL in just his rookie season, but it's starting to feel inevitable that it might be true. Warren was easily one of the best players on the field in Germany every time he set foot in the game, and it was obvious to anyone watching.
Warren was consistently good throughout the contest, but in the clutch that he truly stepped up. The only other player to make a key play on the game-tying and game-winning drives besides Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor was Tyler Warren, and he made his presence known.
With the decline of Travis Kelce, the tight end position hasn't been more open for someone to lay claim to the title of best in the league in quite some time. Brock Bowers laid his stake very well last year, but with Tyler Warren's consistently elite play, he's vying for the crown just as much as anybody.
Loser No. 1: Michael Badgley
It was a bad day for Colts kicker Michael Badgley, and his poor performance had Colts fans longing for the early days of the season with Spencer Shrader. Luckily, Badgley was able to redeem himself a bit when he made the game-tying field goal to send the contest into overtime, but had he been better earlier on in the game, overtime wouldn't have even been needed.
The Colts' defining strategy this year has been to establish a lead early and make the other team play from behind. That's exactly what it felt like was going to happen when the Colts punched in the first touchdown of the game, but their momentum was immediately deflated when Badgley shanked the extra point wide.
Not only that, but Badgley had another (albeit more understandable) mistake when he missed a 53-yard field goal in the first half. Conditions weren't perfect in the stadium, but in a league where kickers are consistently kicking from further and further out every week (see: Jaguars Cam Little), it's all the more critical that Badgley make every kick possible.
Winner No. 3: Alec Pierce
Alec Pierce has been nothing short of incredible in 2025 for Indianapolis. For the second straight year in a row, the young wideout leads the league in yards per reception. Pierce has established himself as arguably the best deep threat in the league with his play, and he put that prowess on display in Germany.
Much has been made of Jonathan Taylor's fifth three-touchdown game this year, but one of the most impressive plays of the day was made when Pierce went over two defenders to wrest the ball out of the air and come down for a 30-yard score off of a Daniel Jones deep ball.
Tyler Warren led the team with 99 receiving yards, but Alec Pierce was right behind him with 84 yards, and Pierce did it on half of the amount of receptions. Maybe it was the new presence of an old University of Cincinnati teammate on the team, but Pierce went nuclear yet again in Week 10.
Realistically, not every game in the NFL is going to be a blowout. In fact, blowouts are exceedingly rare compared to much closer games. This game wasn't the first dogfight that Indianapolis had had to be in, and it won't be the last. It's good to see that the team is learning to win when it's not by a lead of three scores or more, because that's what playoff football looks like.
Ideally, the Colts would have dominated the Falcons in every way, but that's just not going to happen every week. What the team did show was true grit, and their Week 10 victory was evidence that the Colts are here to stay.