Bernard Pierce

Ravens running back Bernard Pierce ran hard through the middle for a pair of first downs in the third quarter Sunday, displaying no effects of a quadriceps injury that had hampered him for the past few weeks.

Despite Pierce gaining 13 yards and 12 yards on his first two carries, the drive stalled and he would see limited playing time overall in his first game back. Pierce finished with 30 yards on four carries in the Ravens' 20-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was his first action since getting hurt prior to the Ravens’ win last month over the Cleveland Browns.

“I felt good, like I was able to contribute to the best of my ability,” Pierce said. “Hopefully, that’s a start of more to come. Once I got in the game, it was starting to get away from us a little bit. We had to switch it up and go back to the air game.”

The Ravens ran the ball a season-low 15 times for 90 yards, but averaged six yards per carry, led by Justin Forsett’s 42 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro carried just five times for 18 yards. Forsett did add seven catches for 55 yards, and with the return of Pierce, seems to be the go-to guy in this crowded backfield right now.