INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck took his chances Sunday.
Eventually, the Colts quarterback — and Indianapolis’ suddenly stout defense — did just enough to hold on.
Luck threw for one touchdown, ran for another, worked the clock masterfully and then watched the defense close it out in the final minutes Sunday as the Colts held off the Baltimore Ravens 20-13.
Luck was 32 of 49 for 312 yards with two interceptions. But his 6-yard TD pass to Dwayne Allen early in the third quarter finally gave the Colts some breathing room and his nifty 13-yard TD run early in the fourth made it 20-6.
Indianapolis (3-2) allowed a season-low 13 points and has now won three straight since starting 0-2, grabbing a share of the AFC South lead because of Houston’s overtime loss in Dallas. The last two division champs will break the early season tie Thursday night when the Colts travel to Texas.
Baltimore (3-2) saw its three-game winning streak end on a day the offense struggled. Joe Flacco was 22 of 38 for 235 yards, threw one interception and was sacked a season-high four times — one more time than he’d been sacked all season. They had three turnovers and there was a nearly 17½-minute disparity in possession time.
The predictable result: Baltimore dropped to 0-5 all-time in Indianapolis.
In the first half, it was all defense — and all field goals.
Steve Smith fumbled on the Ravens’ first offensive play, giving Indy the ball at the Baltimore 22. Three plays later, Adam Vinatieri made a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Vinatieri made it 6-0 late in the second quarter after one defensive penalty gave the Colts’ a second chance to score a touchdown, and an offensive penalty later wiped out a touchdown pass.
Baltimore finally got on the scoreboard with Justin Tucker’s 52-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
In the second half, Luck finally took charge.
The NFL’s leader in TD passes found Allen to make it 13-3, and after another Ravens field goal, Luck scored on his TD run to make it 20-16.
The Ravens closed to 20-13 with 7:16 to play on Justin Forsett’s 11-yard TD run, and got one more chance after Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled in the Ravens’ red zone with 1:49 to play.
But the Colts pressured Flacco on the final series and eventually closed it out when cornerback Greg Toler leapt to tip away a pass from Torrey Smith on fourth-and-3.
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