The Saints brought a two-game losing streak with them into Indianapolis on Sunday, but they will be going home in a better frame of mind.
Derek Carr threw two touchdowns and Taysom Hill ran for two touchdowns as the Saints rolled to a 38-27 win over the Colts. The victory moves New Orleans to 4-4 ahead of a Week Nine home date against the Bears.
Carr ended last week’s loss to the Jaguars frustrated by an inability to hook up with Chris Olave, but there won’t be any ranting this week. Rashid Shaheed was the top target as the speedster reeled in three catches for 153 yards. They included a 58-yard score and a 51-yarder on a third down late in the fourth quarter to help ice the win.
Carr had 310 yards overall and also hit Alvin Kamara for a score. Hill ran nine times for 64 yards, caught a pass from Carr and completed a 44-yard pass to Shaheed that was initially ruled an interception. It was clear on replay that Shaheed had control before the ball came out while he was being tackled, though, and Hill scored his second touchdown a few plays later.
The Colts were up 17-7 after a Carr fumble in the first half, but the big plays given up on defense and Gardner Minshew threw an interception in the end zone to kill a prime scoring chance in the third quarter.
Minshew was 23-of-41 for 213 yards and two touchdowns to go with the pick, but the Colts may have been better served by staying on the ground more often. Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss ran 23 times for 161 yards, but the Saints got up by enough to force the Colts away from what was working for them in the first half.
Indianapolis will head to Carolina next week and they’ll hope to avoid being the Panthers’ second victims of the 2023 season.