The Sports Xchange

INDIANAPOLIS — Turnovers defined the season’s first eight quarters for the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts.

The Jets forced 10 — five in each game — in victories against the Cleveland Browns and now the Colts. Indianapolis committed eight — three in a loss to the Buffalo Bills and five more Monday night in New York’s 20-7 triumph at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass, and the Jets made life miserable for quarterback Andrew Luck and the Colts.

New York quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes, including a 15-yarder to wide receiver Brandon Marshall with 6:20 remaining to cap a seven-play, 80-yard drive after the Colts closed within 10-7.

“That was a big drive,” Fitzpatrick said, “We got in the huddle, looked each other in the eye and knew we had to make something happen. Marshall and (wide receiver) Eric Decker made my job easy, and it was fun watching our defense make plays after the pain of going against those guys in training camp.

“We have a long way to go, but this is a good team, and it is a team with good chemistry.”

The Jets (2-0) intercepted Luck three times and recovered one of his fumbles. They also recovered a fumble by running back Frank Gore at the goal line — Revis snatched that one — to deny Indianapolis (0-2) what would have been a third-quarter touchdown.

“They’re flying around, they’re starting to buy into the system,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “We’re not where we want to be. We’re on the way.”

Luck finished 21 of 37 for 250 yards and one touchdown. In two games, Luck has been intercepted five times and lost a fumble.

What we learned about the Colts:

1. For a second consecutive week, the Colts failed to score in the first half. That had not happened since the 1997 season’s eighth and ninth games against the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers. Indianapolis went 0-for-5 on third down in the first half, during which the Jets built a 10-0 lead. If slow starts continue to plague the Colts, they likely will be playing from behind more often than not.

2. Penalties absolutely crippled Indianapolis, 11 for 84 yards. Four obvious holding penalties had the Colts playing in the shadow of their own end zone frequently Monday night. The Colts also were penalized five times for 49 yards in their season-opening loss at Buffalo.

3. Turnovers have the Colts reeling. Indianapolis gave the ball away a total of eight times in their first two games, including five interceptions of Luck and a fumble he lost against the Jets. The high-powered Colts offense has five more turnovers than touchdowns. Those are numbers that are indicative of an 0-2 start.

Etc.

–QB Andrew Luck completed 21 passes, reaching 20-plus for the 33rd time in his career. That ties Johnny Unitas for second place in team history. Peyton Manning holds the franchise record of 153 games with at least 20 completions.

–CB Vontae Davis left the game with a concussion, and TE Dwayne Allen sprained an ankle. The status of both players for Sunday’s game at Tennessee won’t be known until later in the week.

–RB Frank Gore topped 14,000 yards from scrimmage for his NFL career. He finished with 61 total yards Monday, 57 rushing and 4 receiving.

–For only the second time in coach Chuck Pagano’s tenure with the Colts (2012-15), Indianapolis dropped consecutive regular-season games. The Colts are 14-2 after a loss under Pagano.