Thumbs up, down: Wilson, Gore and ... Hilton (?) get thumbs up, Pagano, Brissett down

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Here’s the best and worst of the Indianapolis Colts’ 13-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday:

Thumbs up

>> WR T.Y. Hilton: You’ll probably look at Hilton’s final line – two catches, 20 yards – and think, “Huh?”

The truth is, Hilton’s two catches were amazingly clutch, coming on third-and-10 and fourth-and-4 on the Colts’ lone scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. Hilton’s fourth-down grab was a tough one, but he skillfully contorted his body to make the catch. Hilton had another impressive 9-yard catch later in the game but it was negated by a penalty.

This was the kind of game where it appeared Hilton might be rendered a non-factor. The Colts weren’t even thinking about throwing for most of the day. But Hilton showed up when called upon and gave the Colts a chance.

>> CB Quincy Wilson: The rookie corner, making just his third appearance, was asked to step up and did just that. After the Bills exploited the matchup pitting 6-5 Buffalo receiver Kelvin Benjamin against 5-7 Colts cornerback Kenny Moore, Wilson was asked to shadow Benjamin the entire second half.

The result?

Benjamin was shut out the rest of the way, Wilson defending the two attempts thrown his way. Wilson’s playing time down the stretch this season is a result of injuries to Rashaan Melvin and Pierre Desir – nothing to celebrate – but it’s going to pay off for the Colts in the long term.

>> RB Frank Gore: Sure, you could laud Gore for his 130 rushing yards. But he deserves as much or more praise for his mere toughness. The Colts called upon Gore to carry the ball a career-high 36 times – at 34 years old – and he didn’t miss a beat.

Gore was creative and crafty with his runs, despite a total inability to plant and explode into holes because of the treacherous footing at New Era Stadium (which got an estimated 8 inches of snow during the game, according to Bills officials).

Gore sat at his locker battered and bloodied afterward.

“It was tough, but once we got out there and when it’s our time to get up, your mind changes,” Gore said. “It’s like, ‘Let’s go try to make some plays.”

Thumbs down

>> Coaching: Coach Chuck Pagano had one of his biggest blunders to date when he mystifyingly let more than 30 seconds tick off the clock late in regulation, leaving Adam Vinatieri to attempt a 43-yard field goal on a snow-covered field. The gripe from Vinatieri was the fact that the ball was not on the right hash mark, as he had requested.

But criticism is warranted for issues beyond that. Why not take a quick shot at the end zone? Even a play that did not reach the end zone could have at least given Vinatieri an easier attempt.

There were several options – all of them seemingly better than the one Pagano chose.

>> QB Jacoby Brissett: It’s tough to downgrade any one player when the conditions were as incredibly difficult as they were on Sunday. But Brissett had several opportunities to complete key passes in the second half that could have paved the way for more points in regulation and possibly earn the Colts a win.

Brissett’s hesitation is a recurring theme. And at the NFL level, once the quarterback hesitates on a pass attempt, the play is as good as over.

The Colts keep learning this the longer Brissett plays in 2017.