At the start of the second quarter, the Indianapolis Colts were already in the Denver Broncos’ red zone. Brandon Jones pulled off a huge pass defense on third down to save the day and keep them out of the end zone. However, the damage was done as the Broncos lost two points early in the game.

Colts 10, Broncos 0.

The Broncos had to answer, but a Bo Nix sack on third down dashed hopes that the answer would come from the offense. They would punt it away where the Colts would start inside their own five yard line. The defense almost had the answer with a near safety, but Anthony Richardson somehow managed to get a pass to himself and then run it back to the line of scrimmage to bring out the punt unit.

With the ball starting near midfield, the Broncos offense needed a bounce to gain some momentum before halftime.

Bo Nix rushed the offense down the field as there was no running game at all on this drive either, but a pass interference call to Courtland Sutton put them in position just outside the 13-yard line, where Nix fired a pass down the seam to Adam Trautman to finally get the Broncos on the board.

Colts 10, Broncos 7.

With some momentum, the Broncos defense came out with firepower on the next drive. After nearly sacking Richardson — who even the 300-pound guys clearly can’t bring down — he threw an ugly duck shot that was intercepted by Brandon Jones to give the ball right back to the Broncos’ offense.

With the ball at their own 38-yard line, the Broncos started the next drive with a nice catch by Jaleel McLaughlin on first down for five yards. Nix then attempted to hit Courtland Sutton on a quick out, but the attempt fell incomplete. The Colts covered perfectly on third down and the Broncos hit right back with just under three minutes left in the first half.

The Colts started their next drive inside their own 15-yard line, so the Broncos at least kept the field longer for Indianapolis. On that drive, they exchanged a three-pointer with the Denver offense, giving Bo Nix and the Broncos offense another score before halftime.

A two-yard dive by Javonte Williams on first down and a screen pass to Jaleel McLaughlin on second down earned them the two-minute warning, facing a third-and-2. A false start turned it into a third-and-seven, and poor playcalling led to a pass behind the uprights that then led to a punt.

A huge punt return put the Colts on the Broncos’ side near the 50-yard line. A screen pass for a nice gain put the Colts within field goal range. A sack by John Franklin-Myers and Nik Bonitto brought them to a third-and-15, where a deep pass into the end zone by Kris Abrams-Draine was deflected 10 seconds before halftime.

The 50-yard field goal brought the teams into halftime.

Colts 13, Broncos 7.