INGLEWOOD, Calif. – An 88-yard touchdown from Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Tutu Atwell just after the two-minute warning ultimately dealt the Colts their first defeat of 2025, a 27-20 loss on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

The Colts were flagged 11 times in the game, and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell fumbled just before the goal line on what nearly was a 76-yard touchdown in the second half.

The Colts trailed at halftime after allowing the Rams to drive 96 yards on 13 plays just before the end of the second quarter, with quarterback Matthew Stafford finishing the drive with an 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver Davante Adams. A third-and-10 16-yard completion from Stafford to Adams keyed the possession, which put the Rams up, 13-10.

Prior to that, the Colts turned a failed Stafford fourth-and-one sneak – which head coach Shane Steichen successfully challenged – into a Tyler Warren two-yard touchdown run on a fourth down play early in the second quarter. Kicker Spencer Shrader connected on a 52-yard field goal; quarterback Daniel Jones threw his first interception of the season on the Colts' first possession on a deep ball intended for Mitchell.

The Rams turned that interception into a field goal; kicker Joshua Karty also made another field goal in the first half. Nacua had seven catches for 112 yards at halftime; the Colts had 118 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, their lowest total in any half this season.

The Colts looked to take the lead early in the third quarter when Jones connected with Mitchell downfield on a third-and-4; Mitchell came up with a contested catch, accelerated away from two Rams defenders down the sideline but fumbled just before he crossed the goal line, losing the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. Instead of the Colts going up likely by four points, the Rams took over at their own 20-yard line.

The Colts' defense stepped up after Mitchell's fumble, forcing the Rams to punt on their next three possessions, with a sack by defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore and a pass break-up by cornerback Johnathan Edwards keying the second of those three punts. The Colts' offense, though, went three-and-out on consecutive possessions.

After that third Rams punt, though, the Colts' offense shook free. Jones completed a pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on the first play of the drive for nine yards; running back Jonathan Taylor then 20 yards on three consecutive carries before Jones hit Pittman off play-action for a gain of 17 yards, moving the ball into Rams territory.

Jones linked up with wide receiver Ashton Dulin for an 11-yard completion on third-and-3; two plays later, Jones found Warren for a 23-yard gain to move the Colts to the Rams' two-yard line. Jones connected with Pittman for a touchdown on the next play, capping an 11-play, 90-yard drive that put the Colts up, 17-13, early in the fourth quarter.

The Colts quickly got the ball back when Stafford and running back Kyren Williams mis-handled a handoff exchange (cornerback Mike Hilton was in the backfield disrupting the play), with Adebawore falling on the loose ball. A pass interference penalty on Warren, though, led the Colts to settle for a 38-yard Shrader field goal to go up by seven with just under nine minutes to go.

Los Angeles countered, though, with an 83-yard march ending with Stafford throwing a nine-yard touchdown to Nacua on a fourth-and-two play, which tied the score at 20 with 3:20 remaining.

A 17-yard completion to Warren, with a 15-yard personal foul penalty tacked on, quickly moved the Colts into Rams territory on the ensuing possession. A pass interference penalty on Rams safety Quentin Lake on a second-and-18 dropback gave the Colts a fresh set of downs, but a holding penalty on Mitchell wiped out what would've been a Taylor 53-yard touchdown run.

The Colts then faced a third-and-28 just after the two-minute warning and punted the ball back to the Rams, leading to Atwell's 88-yard touchdown.

The Colts had a chance to tie or win the game, though, taking over with 1:27 left and all three of their timeouts. A holding penalty on the drive-opening kickoff, though, meant the Colts offense had to start at its own 10-yard line. Kam Curl picked off Jones on a deep ball intended for Pittman with 53 seconds left, effectively sealing the game.