Jake's Takes | Jeff Saturday Turns to Matt Ryan as Colts Defy Odds vs. Raiders

After one of the rockiest periods in recent franchise history, the Indianapolis Colts did the improbable and defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on the road, 25-20.

Who knew it would take a monumental shift in the organization for the Indianapolis Colts to get a win?

On Sunday on the road, the Colts (4-5-1) went into Allegiant Stadium and left with a 25-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7).

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Colts and gave the Raiders their third blown fourth-quarter lead of the season.

But that's not the story.

In recent weeks, the Colts have benched their starting quarterback, fired their offensive coordinator, traded away one of their best playmakers, fired their head coach and replaced him with a former player and current ESPN analyst, who then appointed an offensive play-caller who'd yet to do it in a game.

All that and they won.

The Colts had been a laughingstock all week, left for dead after flabbergasting onlookers, but at least for this week, they're winners.

Here are my main observations from the game.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

—Jeff Saturday makes his debut. The Colts shook up the world this week when they hired Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach after firing Frank Reich. Saturday had no coaching experience beyond high school football and was not currently employed by the Colts, so the move was shocking, to say the least. No one knew what to expect on Sunday, but Saturday's group pulled together, did their jobs, and fly back to central Indiana with a "W." From start to finish, the team looked determined to put a better product on the field than they have been for the majority of the season. Hats off to the new coach, his players, and the staff.

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

—Parks Frazier might just be alright. Another interesting move the Colts made this week was when Saturday appointed assistant quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier as the offensive play-caller. So far, so good. Slow starts have plagued the Colts for quite some time now, and on Sunday the Colts scored a touchdown and got points in the first quarter for the first time since Week 3. They also capped off a one-minute drive at the end of the first half with a field goal, which is another area they've struggled. Frazier's offense also reached their first double-digit lead of the season. Parris Campbell and Kylen Granson are a pair of weapons that have been underutilized at times, and they combined for 133 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 catches. In total, the Colts accumulated 415 yards of offense (third-best this season) and were 6-of-11 on third down (54.5%)

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

—Matt Ryan back in the saddle. The Colts benched quarterback Matt Ryan three weeks ago in favor of Sam Ehlinger, who had yet to see any action. Not completely to Ehlinger's fault, the Colts' offense looked totally lifeless since he'd been in. Saturday made the move back to Ryan on Sunday and it paid off. The Colts had their most productive day of offense since Week 6. Ryan himself was sharp and gave the offense more juice than we'd seen in weeks. He went 21-of-28 passing (75.0%) for 222 yards (7.9 YPA), 1 touchdown, and a passer rating of 109.5. He was also sacked just once. On the Colts' go-ahead drive, Ryan had a career-long run of 39 yards and then finished off the drive with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Parris Campbell.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

—Jonathan Taylor back to big performances. The league's reigning rushing champion has had a tough season dealing with injuries and struggling to adjust to a new, leaky offensive line, but Taylor busted through that on Sunday with his biggest day since Week 1. Punctuated by a 66-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter, Taylor picked up 147 yards and a score on 22 carries (6.7 avg.) as well as 16 yards on 2 receptions (8.0 avg.).

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

—DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. The Colts are harboring one of the NFL's best-kept secrets on the interior of their defense. The pair of DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart continues to play lights-out football for the NFL's fourth-ranked defense. On Sunday, the two combined for 9 tackles (2 for loss), 1.5 sacks, 1 batted pass, and 2 quarterback hits.

The Colts now travel back to Indy for back-to-back home games against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 and Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in Week 12.

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