Jonathan Taylor scored a game-winning touchdown in overtime as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-25 in a thriller at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
It was all-too fitting that it would be Taylor to run in a decisive eight-yard score as he crowned a monster performance in which he carried the ball 32 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns to lift Indianapolis to 8-2 on the year.
Michael Badgley's 44-yard field goal pulled the Colts level at 25-25 and sent the game to overtime after Tyler Allgeier's one-yard rushing touchdown and Drake London's two-point conversion put Atlanta on top with 1.44 remaining.
Just moments earlier Taylor had erupted for a career-long 83-yard house call with six minutes on the clock to earn the Colts a 22-17 advantage having been frustrated by Atlanta's No 1-ranked passing defense for much of the game.
Atlanta led 14-13 at the half thanks to touchdowns from Allgeier and London, who finished with six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Daniel Jones went 19 of 26 for 255 yards, a touchdown pass to Alec Pierce and an interception late in the first half, while losing one and recovering one of three fumbles. He was also sacked seven times in another mixed outing following last weekend's ugly defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Michael Penix Jr finished 12 of 28 for 177 yards and a touchdown, while being sacked three times and drawing a costly intentional grounding penalty on the final play of regulation.
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The Colts had not scored points for upwards of 40 minutes until Badgley split the posts with a 34-yard field goal to move Shane Steichen's team within 17-16 in the fourth quarter.
Lou Anarumo's defense were then rewarded by the sensational Taylor as he turned the game around with his 83-yard burst down the sideline, surpassing 200 yards in the process and breaking the franchise record for most career rushing touchdowns.
Allgeier kept the game alive by setting up his own one-yard score in the final two minutes, leaving time for more Colts drama.
Having been sacked by Kaden Elliss past his own 40, Jones scrambled for 19 yards on third-and-21 before Tyler Warren moved the chains on fourth-and-two with a stunning leaping contested catch to pave the way for Badgley's game-tying kick.
The Colts struck first in Berlin when Taylor punched in a one-yard touchdown to punish Atlanta's early turnover, only to see Badgley miss his extra point. A blitzing Cam Bynum strip-sacked Penix Jr on third-and-eight with Germaine Pratt on hand to recover, before Ashton Dulin's 22-yard jet-sweep scurry took Indianapolis to the goalline.
The Colts were then made to pay for a 20-yard pass interference penalty as Allgeier found the end zone with a one-yard score on the ensuing drive. Penix had turned to his star man on the possession as London delivered receptions of 30 and 13 yards to flip the field.
A frantic opening exchange resumed when Alec Pierce rose high above double coverage in the end zone to haul in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jones, the result of Steichen's double-post route concept in which Warren had lured a decisive bite from Jessie Bates.
It capped a two-play response initiated by Taylor's 28-yard burst to move into Atlanta territory.
Badgley squandered a chance to extend the Colts' lead when his 53-yard field goal attempt dropped shy, before Atlanta punished late in the half through London's out-stretching 16-yard touchdown catch for a 14-13 advantage.
Raheem Morris may have then regretted electing not to call a timeout inside the final minute of the second quarter as Bates' interception of Jones and his subsequent taunting penalty denied the Falcons an opportunity to capitalise with just eight seconds on the clock deep in their own territory.
Zane Gonzalez's 43-yard field goal handed the Falcons a 17-13 lead early in the third quarter, before Atlanta's pass defense flexed its muscles with back-to-back forced fumbles on Jones, the second of which was recovered by the standout Jalon Walker.
Sauce Gardner, making his debut for the Colts after arriving via a trade from the New York Jets, coughed up a would-be interception after superbly jumping the comeback route of London on the sideline.
The defeat drops the Falcons to 3-6 amid an inconsistent season for Morris' team, while for Indianapolis it proved a welcome response to their loss to Pittsburgh as they continue their playoff charge.
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