1. Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs and the Colts' offensive line handled the Chiefs' pressure packages nicely.

Jones was not sacked on 35 dropbacks Sunday, and he was pressured on just nine of those plays – the third-lowest rate across Week 2 prior to Monday Night Football. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sent 10 blitzes, and Jones completed seven of 10 passes for 89 yards with a touchdown against those looks. Six of those seven passes went for a first down.

Two throws in particular stood out, with the first coming on a third and four from the Chiefs' 14-yard line on the Colts' opening possession. Kansas City walked seven defenders up to the line with a double mug look and sent all seven as pass rushers while playing man coverage behind it. The Colts had a six-man protection with running back Jonathan Taylor picking up one blitzer, but that meant Jones was responsible for throwing hot against an unblocked pressure.

With safety Jaden Hicks in his face, Jones got the ball out to wide receiver Josh Downs, who quickly won to the inside of cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, for a first down. Jones tossed a play-action touchdown to tight end Tyler Warren a few plays later.

The second one was another all-out Spagnuolo blitz that Jones and Downs handled well. Again, Spagnuolo had seven defenders walked up to the line at the snap and sent all seven, with Taylor picking up Bolton through the A-gap. Safety Alohi Gilman was the free rusher through the B-gap and immediately got in Jones' face. But the Colts' quarterback quickly flipped a pass to Downs, who again created space on an inside release from the slot and then fought for enough yardage to convert a third-and-six.

This one was at the time the biggest play of the game – it came with the Colts trailing, 27-20, with about seven minutes remaining. A sack or an incompletion would've resulted in a field goal, which would've handed the ball back to the Chiefs with a four-point lead. Instead, Taylor punched in a five-yard touchdown to tie the game.

What's clear is how prepared the Colts were for the aggressive nature of Spagnuolo's Kansas City defense, which for nearly a decade has finished games with maniacal, drive-ending blitzes. On Sunday night, the Colts' ability to handle those pressures very much kept them in the game until the end.

2. Laquon Treadwell stepped up with Alec Pierce, and Ashton Dulin, out of the game.

By the first play of the second quarter, the Colts were without their two fastest downfield threats. Wide receiver Ashton Dulin was ruled out prior to Week 2 with an ankle injury, and wide receiver Alec Pierce exited Sunday's game late in the first quarter with a heel injury.

The absences of both players made things more difficult for the Colts' offense, certainly. But credit Treadwell, the 2016 first-round pick who's carved out a lengthy career by committing to special teams, for delivering in some key moments.

Treadwell's biggest play, of course, was his 48-yard catch on a deep ball on the Colts' first offensive play of overtime. He nearly lost a fumble after the catch – he admitted he was nervous during the booth review, which ultimately overturned the call on the field – but that the Colts trusted the 31-year-old, and he delivered on that trust, was important here.

"Just a huge momentum builder for myself," Treadwell said. "... Just helping this team trust me more to be out there and make plays for us."

Treadwell didn't make an impact on just one play, though. He drew a pair of pass interference penalties in the first half, with those amounting to the Colts gaining 49 yards. The 26-yard flag he drew set up a Spencer Shrader field goal, and four plays after he drew a 23-yard pass interference flag, Taylor rumbled 24 yards for a touchdown.

"Reggie (Wayne) does a good job of coaching us to always try to jump back into the defender if he's holding on you just to get that call," Treadwell said. "So it's a lot of coaching that goes into that throughout the year, and it came out on display tonight."

3. Jonathan Taylor was running with efficiency until his final two attempts on Sunday.

Prior to being stuffed for a two-yard loss on the ensuing first-and-10 after Treadwell's deep catch in overtime, Taylor had just one run of zero or negative yards on first down after the first quarter (on seven attempts). Over the entire game, Taylor had an efficient gain (4+ yards) on first-and-10 on nine of his 16 first down rushing attempts.

The last thing Steichen was expecting was a loss of one, but Chiefs linebacker Drew Tranquill filled a lane and dropped Taylor behind the line of scrimmage. On second and 11, future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Chris Jones crashed into the backfield on the snap and helped blow up the rush, with linebacker Nick Bolton bringing Taylor down for a loss of two.

Steichen said his goal was to finish the game by putting the ball in the hands of Taylor. Just one efficient gain here would've done wonders for the Colts' offense, which converted five of nine third down tries with six or fewer yards to go and was two for two on fourth down. Instead, the Colts faced a third-and-13 on which Jones scrambled for five yards; they then didn't get the look they wanted on fourth-and-eight, leading to a Shrader game-tying field goal.

4. The Colts are still searching for answers on defense.

The Colts allowed at least one first down on 10 of the Chiefs' 11 possessions, and Kansas City totaled 523 yards with an average of 6.7 yards per play. Through two games, the Colts' defense is last in the NFL in yards per game, yards per play and points per game, which is nowhere near the standard this group set for itself heading into 2026.

Within those larger numbers, though, were several missed opportunities on Sunday for this defense to change the narrative surrounding it. Things were better than Week 1, certainly from a communication and alignment standpoint, but two third downs in overtime loomed large for this group.

The first one came on Kansas City's opening possession in extra time, when Patrick Mahomes uncorked a 30-yard strike to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton on a third-and-12. Instead of forcing a three-and-out – which would've meant the Colts would've won on just a field goal – the Chiefs were able to get into Colts territory and ultimately field goal range for kicker Harrison Butker.

Then, on a third-and-one from the Colts' 46-yard line, Mahomes dumped off a pass to running back Kenneth Walker III, who picked up 22 yards on the catch-and-run. It was more than enough yardage to set up Butker's game-winning field goal.

"Really frustrated just because we know we could have won that game (with) us on defense just making a few more stops," safety Cam Bynum said. "I think it comes down to a few more plays, a few plays that didn't go our way, and we could have been better on that. Could have changed the game, and we're for sure really disappointed in that."

5. Kapena Gushiken had an impressive showing in his first NFL snaps on defense.

The Colts claimed Gushiken, a versatile defensive back, off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles after roster cut-downs in August. This wasn't some random addition: The Colts brought Gushiken in on a pre-draft visit to the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center and were intrigued with how his twitchy athleticism could make an impact on special teams and, potentially, defense.

When Charvarius Ward Sr. exited Sunday's game with a groin injury (Steichen said Monday it was "tight"), Gushiken stepped in at slot cornerback, with Justin Walley going to outside corner. And he made two critical plays that helped get the Colts into overtime.

On his first regular season defensive snap as a pro, Gushiken drove Thornton back on a quick swing pass to receiver Xavier Worthy, then disengaged with Thornton and forced Worthy out of bounds for a loss of two yards. That play came on a first-and-10 inside the Colts' red zone with the Chiefs leading, 24-20, and it helped force Kansas City into settling for a field goal a few plays later – which kept the Colts within striking distance at 27-20.

Then, on a third-and-seven late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs got wide receiver Rashee Rice matched up against Gushiken from the slot in a condensed formation. Gushiken kept his balance through Rice initiating contact at the top of his out-breaking route toward the sticks and stayed step-for-step with Rice, sticking his hand in as the ball reached the Chiefs wideout and knocking it down for an incompletion.

"I was proud of him," Bynum said. "He came in and had a really good TFL his first play in when they tried to run a perimeter screen, and he bullied the block and was able to get the TFL. And then in man coverage, he was able to ball and get that PBU in a big time situation. ... He was able to go out there and I think it was the fourth quarter and go out and make plays when we needed him, so he showed that he can stand with the best of them."