INDIANAPOLIS - There was a point in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon when things could have gotten a little sticky for the Buffalo Bills.

They were leading the Indianapolis Colts 23-13, and wide receiver Alec Pierce got open down the left sideline and was in position to make a catch that would have given the Colts a first down at the Buffalo 16 with just under 10 minutes left to play.

However, Joe Flacco’s pass bounced off Pierce’s hands and caromed right into the waiting arms of Buffalo safety Taylor Rapp for the Bills’ third interception of the day.

If ever one play showed the difference between these two teams, that was it. On their way to eight victories in 10 games, the Bills have continually risen to the occasion in the critical moments, and in losing six of 10 games, the Colts have not.

But if you needed more proof, what proceeded to happen over the next 6:42 cemented the reality for the Bills and Colts in 2024. Knowing he had to get the game into the barn, Josh Allen put together a brilliant 13-play, 84-yard drive that ended with James Cook’s putaway touchdown and a 30-20 Buffalo victory.

“That was awesome,” Allen said of the final drive which included his own 20-yard run, plus three third-down conversions including a 30-yard catch and run by Khalil Shakir. “We always talk about ending the game on our terms. Having the ball, there’s probably seven, eight minutes left, I’m not really quite sure, but going down there and getting six the way we did, it was a long, grueling drive and got a lot of guys that just gritted it out. Guys are hurt playing through injuries, so I’m proud of our guys.”

To which edge rusher AJ Epenesa agreed.

“It was a nitty-gritty game today,” he said. “Just the guys being resilient and the guys just kept on pushing through. Things aren’t always going to go our way. They’re an NFL team as well, they have a lot of great players and people that can do great things. But we just hammer on our fundamentals, keep it simple, keep it to what we do and we can fight back against anybody no matter the situation.”

Here’s how I graded the Bills:

PASS OFFENSE: B-

There were moments when things were looking a little bleak for the Bills. No Amari Cooper, Keon Coleman, and then Dalton Kincaid, and guys like Jalen Virgil, Tyrell Shavers and Quintin Morris were on the field running pass patterns. On top of that, Allen threw two really bad picks, though they only led to three Colts points.

But as the game went on, Allen started to find himself and his 44-yard completion to Mack Hollins late in the second quarter was one of the biggest plays of the game because that possession was going nowhere, and all of the sudden the Bills were kicking a field goal.

Hollins had a nice day with four catches for 86 yards, and Shakir made his own huge play, taking a short pass and scooting 30 yards to convert a big third down on the Bills’ last possession, the one that put the game on ice. There was also a big Dawson Knox play that went for 34 yards which set up Allen’s 17-yard TD run that put the Bills ahead for good late in the second quarter.

Curtis Samuel even made four catches, though I remain unimpressed because in a game like this, he should have done more.

RUN OFFENSE: B+

I was a little perplexed with the game plan early on. Given all the injury problems among the passing game targets, the Bills had only nine rushing plays in the first half - eight to James Cook, one to Ray Davis. Cook was averaging 4.9 yards per attempt, but the Bills insisted on throwing.

In the second half, Joe Brady checked himself and altered the attack and Cook wound up carrying 19 times for 80 yards and scoring a TD, though Davis remained mostly unused. Also, Allen cranked it up in the second half and he finished with 50 yards rushing, his second-highest total of the year. His 20-yard scramble up the middle got the final drive going when it was in trouble after two holding penalties.

The Bills finished with 135 yards and a 4.4 average, actually out-rushing the Colts despite spotting them a big yardage lead in the first half.

PASS DEFENSE: A-

The Bills picked off three Joe Flacco passes as Taron Johnson got him on Indy’s first play of the game and he returned it 23 yards for a TD. DT Austin Johnson then made his second pick in three weeks as Von Miller put heavy pressure on Flacco and he threw the ball right into Johnson’s belly.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, Rapp was in the right spot when a Flacco pass bounced off the hands of Pierce and Rapp collected it at the Buffalo 16.

The pass rush was not good for chunks of the game as Flacco had too much time to throw, but in the end they wore down a banged up Colts O-line and Johnson, Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa and newly-signed Quinton Jefferson had sacks.

Rousseau’s sack led to a fumble recovery by Damar Hamlin, though Allen gave the ball right back with a pick on the next play. But given that gift, the Colts could not take advantage and faced with fourth-and-2 at the Bills 20, Jefferson blew through for his sack that resulted in a turnover on downs.

The Colts missed WR Michael Pittman, but Josh Downs (7-72), Adonai Mitchell (6-71) and Pierce (4-81) had nice days as the Bills did allow Flacco 26 completions for 272 yards.

RUN DEFENSE: C

It was an F in the first half, an A in the second half, so let’s settle in the middle. Jonathan Taylor broke a 59-yard run and had 107 yards at halftime, but then added just seven more the rest of the game as the Bills did a great job winning the line.

I was confused as to why the Colts stopped feeding Taylor in the second half. They were trailing by one score throughout the third quarter, yet they kept throwing. It must be frustrating for Taylor, especially after he tore through the Bills in the first half.

Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard led the way with nine tackles, and Rapp had seven.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-

Tyler Bass has certainly regained his mojo after that 61-yard field goal a week ago. He made all three of his field goals from 29, 47 and 28 yards, and all three of his extra points including one that had to be attempted from 48 yards due to a personal foul penalty on Spencer Brown after Allen’s TD run. He also put all six of his kickoffs into the end zone.

Sam Martin punted twice, and the first one was awesome, a 61-yarder that looked like a pitching wedge as it checked up at the 3-yard-line where the Bills downed it. He also had a 48-yarder that also was downed inside the 20.

As for return man Brandon Codrington, he’s a rookie and he’s trying to make plays, but he’s going to be out of a job if he plays like he did in this game. Twice in the first half he returned kickoffs from the end zone, and both cost the Bills field position, and one almost resulted in a turnover when he fumbled, only to be saved by Alec Anderson’s recovery.

COACHING: C+

McDermott made a few decisions I disagreed with. To go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Colts 28 was just dumb. It was too early for that. Kick the field goal and go up 13-3. Instead, they failed to convert, and the Colts, feeling like they had new life, drove to the tying TD. It was the first time in 10 tries that the Bills failed on fourth down, so they were due.

In the fourth quarter, the Bills had fourth-and-1 at the 15, up 20-13. Here, he could have kicked a field goal, but he wanted to go for it, and this time it was fine. But he decided to waste a timeout to do so. Allen pushed forward to get it, which was never really in doubt, so why did they burn a timeout? And then, that drive stalled anyway and they still settled for three.

I wasn’t enamored with Joe Brady’s play-calling in the first half, but he got more in line in the second half. Same for Bobby Babich who had a few challenging moments in the first half, but dialed up a great plan in the second as the Bills limited the Colts to a garbage time TD with two seconds remaining.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Buffalo keeps rolling with resilient win over Colts