OAKLAND, Calif. -- The running game kept the Indianapolis Colts in the game and then Andrew Luck put them over the top.

Luck, whose offense is enjoying the best running game of his seven-year NFL career, continues to boost his case as the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year. He was perfect on the game-winning drive in the Colts' 42-28 victory against the Oakland Raiders.

"This season when we've managed that balance we've done some good things as an offense and we'll continue to work at that," Luck said. "I think we're believing in it now. I think we've proven it to ourselves that we can do it and that this is a winning formula. This is how you play complementary football."

Indianapolis, which closed the game by outscoring the Raiders 21-0, heads into its bye week with a 3-5 record and trails the Houston Texans by two games in the AFC South.

The Colts took their first lead since the second quarter when Luck took advantage of having tight end Jack Doyle, who had missed the previous five games with a hip injury, find the open spots in the middle of the field to march 57 yards on just six plays. Doyle had four receptions, including the touchdown, for 52 yards on the drive.

"I loved it," Doyle said. "It was hard being out. I just tried to be in the right spot and make the plays when they come to me."

The touchdown pass to Doyle extended Luck's streak of games with at least three touchdown passes to an NFL-high five straight. Former Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning has the record of eight games, which was set in 2004.

Luck finished 22-of-31 for 239 yards and three touchdowns to increase his season total to 23, which is second in the NFL to Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (26). Luck has gone 156 straight pass attempts without being sacked, after being sacked 156 times in the first five years of his career.

Though Luck is the obvious headliner of the Colts, some of his success has been aided by a running game that has been led by second-year back Marlon Mack.

Mack rushed for 132 yards on 25 carries, becoming the first player to rush for at least 100 yards in back-to-back games for the Colts since the 2007 season. What makes the Colts such a different threat out of the backfield is that they have multiple backs who bring different dimensions to the backfield. Rookie Nyheim Hines rushed for 78 yards on 11 carries.

The drive when Luck threw the game-winning touchdown pass was a perfect example of how the defense had to respect the running game. That ended up opening up the passing game for Indianapolis.

"It's a lot of fun," Colts center Ryan Kelly said. "Takes pressure off the other parts of the game. The ability to go fast and go to your running game, it really binds the defense's hands behind its back. If you can get in third-and-short situations, it makes the defensive coordinator play a different style of game and the ball is in our court, not the defense's."

The Colts followed up their 220-yard rushing game against Buffalo in Week 7 by gaining 222 yards against the Bills.

"(Having a running game) means everything," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "It makes it so much easier to play quarterback. Don't get me wrong, it's hard. Andrew Luck made some incredible plays ... Plays that normal quarterbacks don't make. Even an elite quarterback like him is going to appreciate that run game big time."