With week 2 nearly in the books, the Indianapolis Colts finished off their first home game of the season with a disappointing 27-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Colts looked much improved to start the game, as Kerry Collins led the team on long drives on two of the teams’ first three drives, but each of them ended with field goals. This was one of the biggest issues in this game, as the Browns were scoring touchdowns, but while the Colts were able to get down on Cleveland’s side of the field; they were only able to get field goals. Collins started strong as he completed 9 of his first 12 passes, but ended with only 19 completions out of 38 passes, with 191 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one fumble.

The Colts did run the ball well though, as running back Joseph Addai ran it 14 times for 64 yards, and rookie Delone Carter ran it 11 times for 46 yards, but neither was able to get into the end zone unfortunately. The Colts only touchdown actually came at the end of the fourth quarter as Collins hit tight end Dallas Clark for a six yard score. Indianapolis actually had one more first down (19) than the Browns did (18), but were outdone by the Browns’ ability to run the clock with their running game and Peyton Hillis.

Hillis had a great game for the Browns and was a handful for the Colts just as he is for most teams in the NFL. He ran the ball 27 times for 94 yards, and 2 touchdowns. On top of that though, Hillis also had four catches for 23 yards as well. Colt McCoy was able to put together a strong performance for his team, as he completed 22 of 32 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.

The Colts all around played much better in this week 2 match-up against the Browns than they did in week 1 against the Texans. Their defense was better, and their offense was able to move the ball; with the only exception being a stretch between the third and fourth quarter in which the team had four straight three-and-outs. This stretch was what really did in the team in the end, as they were unable to get any points at the time when they needed them the most. The Colts will now head into week 3 of the regular season, and get prepared for a Sunday Night Football match-up against the defending AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers.