INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The Buffalo Bills ruined Indianapolis' grand opening celebration Sunday night.
Xavier Omon ran for one touchdown, Terrence McGee returned a fumble for another score and Rian Lindell kicked two field goals, leading the Bills to a 20-7 victory over the mistake-prone Colts in the debut of Lucas Oil Stadium.
Little went right for the Colts after they opened the new roof and the sliding window in the back of the north end zone less than 30 minutes before kickoff. Backup quarterback Quinn Gray threw four interceptions, the Colts lost one fumble and were managed just nine first downs - hardly the opening night celebration Indy envisioned.
But the Bills had other plans.
Quarterback J.P. Losman played keepaway with two time-consuming drives in the first half, and the Bills repeatedly snuffed out drives by capitalizing on the Colts' mistakes.
The result: Buffalo held onto the ball for more than 42 minutes, running nearly twice as many plays (71 to 39) as the Colts.
Indy, however, was short-handed without their top two quarterbacks. Two-time league MVP Peyton Manning missed his fourth straight game since having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee in mid-July, and his backup, Jim Sorgi, was a late scratch with what the team called a gimpy knee.
Sorgi had been scheduled to play into the third quarter, and Jared Lorenzen, wound up starting instead.
Buffalo adapted better to its absences.
Starting quarterback Trent Edwards didn't play after bruising a knee in practice this week, and Losman, the former starter, had the offense humming. Losman was 13-of-19 for 108 yards before leaving after he appeared to hurt his throwing hand on a handoff. At halftime, Losman's hand was wrapped in ice.
Yet the Bills led only 3-0 after one quarter and finally started to pull away when Omon scored on a 1-yard run with 5 minutes left in the half. McGee ended Indy's only productive drive of the half by scooping up Joseph Addai's fumble and sprinting 68 yards for a score to make it 17-0 with 1:43 to go.
The Colts didn't score until late in the third quarter when Quinn Gray heaved a 94-yard TD pass to Devin Aromashodu. But the interceptions didn't allow Indy to get any close.
Indianapolis also lost Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday and kick returner T.J. Rushing with left knee injuries during the game. Coach Tony Dungy said both were scheduled to have MRIs on Monday.
Buffalo lost left tackle Langston Walker early in the second quarter with an injured left forearm. That could be a huge loss since Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters is still holding out in a contract dispute.
Xavier Omon ran for one touchdown, Terrence McGee returned a fumble for another score and Rian Lindell kicked two field goals, leading the Bills to a 20-7 victory over the mistake-prone Colts in the debut of Lucas Oil Stadium.
Little went right for the Colts after they opened the new roof and the sliding window in the back of the north end zone less than 30 minutes before kickoff. Backup quarterback Quinn Gray threw four interceptions, the Colts lost one fumble and were managed just nine first downs - hardly the opening night celebration Indy envisioned.
But the Bills had other plans.
Quarterback J.P. Losman played keepaway with two time-consuming drives in the first half, and the Bills repeatedly snuffed out drives by capitalizing on the Colts' mistakes.
The result: Buffalo held onto the ball for more than 42 minutes, running nearly twice as many plays (71 to 39) as the Colts.
Indy, however, was short-handed without their top two quarterbacks. Two-time league MVP Peyton Manning missed his fourth straight game since having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee in mid-July, and his backup, Jim Sorgi, was a late scratch with what the team called a gimpy knee.
Sorgi had been scheduled to play into the third quarter, and Jared Lorenzen, wound up starting instead.
Buffalo adapted better to its absences.
Starting quarterback Trent Edwards didn't play after bruising a knee in practice this week, and Losman, the former starter, had the offense humming. Losman was 13-of-19 for 108 yards before leaving after he appeared to hurt his throwing hand on a handoff. At halftime, Losman's hand was wrapped in ice.
Yet the Bills led only 3-0 after one quarter and finally started to pull away when Omon scored on a 1-yard run with 5 minutes left in the half. McGee ended Indy's only productive drive of the half by scooping up Joseph Addai's fumble and sprinting 68 yards for a score to make it 17-0 with 1:43 to go.
The Colts didn't score until late in the third quarter when Quinn Gray heaved a 94-yard TD pass to Devin Aromashodu. But the interceptions didn't allow Indy to get any close.
Indianapolis also lost Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday and kick returner T.J. Rushing with left knee injuries during the game. Coach Tony Dungy said both were scheduled to have MRIs on Monday.
Buffalo lost left tackle Langston Walker early in the second quarter with an injured left forearm. That could be a huge loss since Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters is still holding out in a contract dispute.