You know those games where you text your friends midway through the third quarter asking, “Are we really still watching this?” That is the spiritual home of the Denver Broncos vs Indianapolis Colts rivalry lately. If you are Googling “Denver Broncos vs Indianapolis Colts match player stats,” there is a 99% chance you are trying to make sense of that absolute fever dream of a Thursday Night Football game from 2022.
It was a game that set offensive football back about 50 years. No touchdowns. Just field goals, interceptions, and a whole lot of confusion. But here’s the thing: sometimes the ugliest games have the most fascinating stats. They tell a story of desperation, defensive dominance, and quarterbacks trying to survive their own offensive lines.
Let’s crack open the box score of that infamous 12-9 overtime game (and look ahead to what these stats mean for future matchups).
The Quarterback “Duel”: Wilson vs. Ryan
Let’s be honest. Calling this a duel feels generous. It was more like two guys trying to assemble IKEA furniture in the dark.
Russell Wilson was the big story. The Broncos had just traded the farm for him. His stats in this game? 21 of 39 for 274 yards.
On the surface, 274 yards doesn’t look terrible. But the deeper numbers are brutal. Zero touchdowns. And two interceptions. The most critical stat, though, was his decision-making in the red zone. Late in the game, with a chance to win it, Wilson threw a pass into traffic that Gilmore intercepted. Then, in overtime, on 4th and 1… well, we all remember the incompletion to Courtland Sutton. The “Completion Percentage Over Expected” (CPOE) for Wilson that night was deep in the negatives.
On the other sideline, Matt Ryan looked like he had aged ten years in ten minutes. His stat line: 26 of 41 for 251 yards. Also zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
But here is the stat that defined Matt Ryan’s night: Sacks. He was sacked 6 times. He was hit countless more. The Colts’ offensive line was a turnstile. Yet, Ryan made the throws when it absolutely mattered in overtime to get them into field goal range. It wasn’t pretty, but his “clutch factor” stat—if that existed—was just slightly higher than Wilson’s.
The Defense: The Real MVP Stats
If you love defense, this game was your Mona Lisa. The “Denver Broncos vs Indianapolis Colts match player stats” for the defensive units are staggering.
Let’s talk about Stephon Gilmore. The former Defensive Player of the Year played like he was in his prime. He had the game-sealing interception and a pass deflection on the final play of the game. His “targets allowed” stat was incredibly low. Every time Wilson looked his way, it was a dead end.
For the Broncos, Bradley Chubb and Baron Browning were terrors. They combined for huge pressure numbers. The Broncos’ defense held the Colts to 0-for-2 in the red zone. Usually, if your defense allows zero touchdowns, you win the game. The fact that the Broncos lost while allowing zero touchdowns is a statistical anomaly that will haunt Denver fans for decades.
If you want to see how rare it is to lose a game without allowing a touchdown, Pro Football Reference has a list of these weird “Scorigami” type games. It’s a club nobody wants to be in.
The Running Game: Nowhere to Run
Usually, when the passing game is broken, you lean on the run. But neither team could do that either.
The Colts were without Jonathan Taylor for this matchup (due to injury), so they leaned on Deon Jackson and Phillip Lindsay. Remember Phillip Lindsay? The former Bronco? He returned to Denver and… well, he had 40 yards on 11 carries. Not exactly a revenge game for the ages.
The Broncos had Melvin Gordon and Mike Boone. Gordon rushed for 54 yards. The lack of a run game meant both teams were constantly in “3rd and long.” And 3rd and long is where offenses go to die.
The stat that stands out here is Yards Per Carry. Both teams hovered around 3.5. That means every drive was a struggle. There were no “easy buttons.”
The Kickers: The Only People Who Scored
We have to give credit where it’s due. The kickers were the only reason the scoreboard wasn’t 0-0.
Chase McLaughlin for the Colts was the player of the game, statistically speaking. He went 4 for 4 on field goals. He scored all 12 of the Colts’ points. In a game where offenses are incompetent, a kicker who can hit from 50+ yards is the most valuable asset on the field.
Brandon McManus for the Broncos went 3 for 4. That one miss? It hurt. But honestly, asking your kicker to be the entire offense is a recipe for disaster.
Why These Stats Matter Today
Okay, that game was a disaster. Why are we still looking at these stats?
Because they show the floor. They show what happens when offensive lines fail and quarterbacks lose confidence.
Looking ahead to future matchups, the rosters have churned. Matt Ryan is retired. Russell Wilson is in Pittsburgh. But the “Denver Broncos vs Indianapolis Colts match player stats” give us a benchmark.
- Defensive Dominance: Both franchises have defensive cores (Patrick Surtain II for Denver, DeForest Buckner for Indy) that can wreck games. Expect low scoring when they meet.
- The Importance of Health: The Colts’ stats were awful because they missed Jonathan Taylor. The Broncos’ stats were awful because they missed Javonte Williams.
- Red Zone Efficiency: This is the “God Stat.” If you can’t convert in the red zone (like both teams failed to do here), you leave it up to a coin flip in overtime.
For a look at how these teams have rebuilt their offenses since this disaster, check out NFL.com’s team pages. You’ll see a lot of new names trying to erase the memory of that 12-9 nightmare.
In the end, stats can be pretty, or they can be gritty. This matchup was the grittiest of them all. It proved that sometimes, the most interesting numbers aren’t the touchdowns—they’re the sacks, the punts (oh god, so many punts), and the field goals that keep a team alive when everything else is falling apart.
FAQs
Q: Did either team score a touchdown in the 2022 Broncos vs Colts game?
A: No. It was the first game in NFL history where each quarterback threw for over 250 yards, yet neither team scored a touchdown. The final score was 12-9.
Q: How many interceptions did Russell Wilson throw?
A: Wilson threw two critical interceptions, both late in the game, which killed the Broncos’ chances of winning.
Q: Who was the leading rusher in the game?
A: Deon Jackson (Colts) and Melvin Gordon (Broncos) both struggled, but Jackson technically led with 62 rushing yards if you include his scrappy play late in the game.
Q: What was the final result?
A: The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 12-9 in overtime, thanks to a Chase McLaughlin field goal and a defensive stop on 4th down.
