Patriots vs. Colts: Full Report Card Grades for Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Colts came into Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday Night Football with a fired-up crowd going against the New England Patriots, but loud fans were quieted by an ugly performance, as the Colts came away with a 42-20 loss.
It was an ugly game from the start, with the Patriots running all over the Colts early on and throughout the game. They ran for 77 yards in their opening drive, finishing it with a four-yard touchdown run from Jonas Gray. The Patriots started with the lead and never looked back, preventing the Colts from ever tying it up.
Luck did his best to keep the game close, driving the offense down the field multiple times. But a costly interception along with some awful play from the defense made it impossible for the Colts to ever mount a comeback.
Despite having very little in-game experience, Gray looked like one of the best running backs in the league going against Indianapolis, finishing with 199 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. His performance reminded many of LeGarrette Blount, who ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns against the Colts in last year's playoff matchup.
It didn't matter that Tom Brady threw two interceptions because the offense did pretty much whatever it wanted, especially in the second half. Patriots punter Ryan Allen basically had the night off, punting the ball away just once.
There's plenty more that went wrong for the Colts in this game, so let's take a look at the final report card grades for each unit in the loss to New England.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Andrew Luck made some nice throws early on, but as he's known to do at least once a week, he made a questionable throw to Reggie Wayne that resulted in a Devin McCourty interception.
As he usually does, Luck adjusted and came back to throw a touchdown on a nice fade route to Hakeem Nicks just before halftime. Through the first two quarters, he went 13-for-19 with 173 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Luck tried to do what he could in the second half, but the team was down too much and the running game was nonexistent, forcing him to try to carry the offense. Sadly, the third-year quarterback was also the team's leading rusher, running for 15 of the team's 19 yards.
The final numbers for Luck will look solid, completing 23 of his 39 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and they pretty accurately reflect how he played. It wasn't his best game, but there wasn't much that Luck did wrong. It's very hard to pin much, if any, of the blame on him for this loss.
Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 10
The running backs were almost nonexistent in the first half of Sunday's game. Playing from behind early, the Colts called just seven designed run plays in the first half, totaling just six yards from Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson.
Although he's made more plays this year, Richardson looked especially bad early on, getting to the open rushing lanes slowly—or not at all—then hesitating. His four carries went for a whopping zero yards at halftime, including a big loss on an attempted toss outside of the tackles.
Things didn't get any better for either running back. Bradshaw left the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury, finishing the game with just four yards on seven carries. Richardson did even worse, putting up zero yards on seven carries.
The two did very little in the pass game as well compared to other games, with the two combining for five receptions for just 28 yards. The offensive line didn't give them a lot of wide-open rushing lanes, but the fact that almost every running play turned into a disaster means that the backs weren't playing well either.
If Bradshaw doesn't return, it could be a very long season watching Richardson try to get it together, because it's starting to look like he's not the running back the Colts were expecting when they traded away a first-round pick.
Grade: D-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Despite being covered early on by Darrelle Revis, Reggie Wayne caught a few consecutive passes from Luck in the first quarter, including a big 46-yard gain that put the Colts in the red zone. They only scored a field goal, but it was good to see the veteran stepping up so early. Wayne finished the game with 91 yards on five catches.
T.Y. Hilton was shut down for the most part early on despite not being covered by Revis, and the Patriots continued to shut him down throughout the game. He finished with just 24 yards on three catches, as it was clear that the Patriots had planned to contain him heading into Sunday.
Hakeem Nicks made a great catch for a 10-yard touchdown on a fade route, but once again did little in the passing game, finishing with two receptions for 15 yards. He hasn't been in sync with Luck all year, leaving many to wonder why Donte Moncrief hasn't assumed the role as the team's No. 3 receiver.
He hasn't been a busy player in the passing game lately, but Coby Fleener made a couple of nice plays in the first half, catching three passes for 64 yards. With Dwayne Allen leaving the game early, Fleener did what he could to make up for his absence in the passing game.
Fleener continued his high level of play in the second half, finishing the game with 144 yards on seven catches, making this the biggest game of his career. Other than Fleener and Wayne, however, it wasn't the best night for the receivers, who were contained by New England's secondary.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Undrafted rookie center Jonotthan Harrison seemed nervous early on, appearing to forget the snap count while everyone else on the offensive line jumped on the second drive of the game.
But Harrison wasn't the only offensive lineman to struggle early on. Luck was sacked just once, but the pressure on interior blitzes got to him frequently, forcing him to throw earlier than he would like to. More concerning was the lack of production on the ground, with the Colts averaging just 1.6 yards per carry in the first half, most of that production coming from a pair of scrambles from Luck.
The Patriots weren't able to sack Luck again in the game, but the pressure was there frequently. That's not the main reason the offensive line gets such a bad grade, however, as their combined effort in the running game was just awful. As a team, they put up just 1.1 yards per carry in the game, and if you remove Luck's scrambles, they averaged around 0.3 yards per carry, which is just unacceptable.
At the beginning of the season, the offensive line was one of the bigger surprises, but they've returned to being a unit with plenty of questions, including concerns on the interior of the line, once again.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line got off to an awful start to the game, giving up 77 rushing yards and an easy four-yard touchdown to Jonas Gray on the opening drive. Josh Chapman was struggling in particular, getting dominated in the trenches.
Chapman wasn't the only player on the defensive line to struggle, however. New England continued to do whatever it wanted on the ground, racking up 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first half while averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
The Patriots offensive line completely eliminated the threat of the Colts defensive line, with their running backs getting through the line of scrimmage on almost every play. The final rushing numbers for New England will likely be drilled into the defensive line's heads this week, as the Patriots finished with 244 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
Gray looked like a Pro Bowl running back against this defensive line, running for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Arthur Jones has been missed, but the fact that they couldn't contain the run in any way, shape or form without him does not bode well for the Colts once they playoffs begin.
Grade: F
Linebacker
6 of 10
Returning for the first time since Week 8, Erik Walden made his presence felt, getting multiple hits on Tom Brady in the first half. One hit helped Brady sail the throw, allowing Mike Adams to get an interception on the play.
But Walden disappeared in the second half, and while Bjoern Werner had a big hit on Danny Amendola and a couple of other nice plays, neither were able to put pressure on Brady in the second half. In fact, no one was really able to, as Brady wasn't sacked once.
The inside linebackers continue to struggle, especially D'Qwell Jackson. Jerrell Freeman can make plays from time to time, but Jackson is just too slow and can't blow up plays early enough to help in the running or passing games. That was on full display in this game, with the running backs picking up extra yards whenever they hit the second level.
The play that summed up Jackson's game is pictured above. Despite staying close to Rob Gronkowski on this play, the tight end threw Jackson off of him like it was nothing, then proceeded to run in a 26-yard touchdown.
There's clearly a talent issue at inside linebacker, because the Colts have no legitimate options to replace Jackson with. The outside linebackers haven't been terrible, but they've clearly missed Robert Mathis rushing the passer.
Grade: D+
Secondary
7 of 10
Mike Adams was one of the very few bright spots on the Colts defense in this game, picking off Brady twice. One came on a sailed pass after Brady was hit and the other was a bad decision when he felt rushed, but the two interceptions were still big plays from the veteran safety.
The rest of the secondary didn't do so well, including Vontae Davis, who allowed a couple of catches during the game. Still, he didn't play nearly as bad as Greg Toler or Darius Butler did. Toler drew multiple penalties during the game and was beaten in man coverage multiple times.
Meanwhile, Butler hasn't looked the same since his injury, and that didn't change this week with the No. 3 corner struggling again. He's been a productive nickel corner in the past, but it's clear that something is still bothering him right now.
LaRon Landry made his first appearance since his four-game suspension and did little to show that he deserves his old starting spot. Sergio Brown didn't make any highlight plays, but considering both players' work as a whole this season, it's safe to say that Landry shouldn't be the starter.
Had the rest of the defense stepped up, the secondary could have been fine, but with little pass rush, their weaker cornerbacks were exposed multiple times throughout the night.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Almost nothing went right for the Colts, but their best unit was easily their special teams, which continues to produce week in and week out.
Playing against his former team, Adam Vinatieri remained perfect this season. He made both of his field-goal attempts, including a 53-yard attempt that he drilled with plenty of room. This has been Vinatieri's best season in a while, as the 41-year-old looks like he has plenty left in the tank.
Pat McAfee played a huge role in the field position game, averaging 56.7 yards per punt and living up to his "Boomstick" nickname. Two of his punts pinned the Patriots inside the 20-yard line, and penalties on those punts helped back New England way up.
Dewey McDonald deserves some recognition for a couple of very nice plays on special teams this week. The rookie made a couple of very nice open-field tackles in kickoff and punt coverage, preventing the Patriots from getting much on their returns.
This special teams unit continues to be one of the best in the NFL, and they've done everything possible to put the Colts in a position to win each week.
Grade: A+
Coaching
9 of 10
Pep Hamilton has done a very good job adjusting the game plan this season, but he returned with some head-scratching plays in this one. One of the stranger play calls was a designed toss to Richardson, which was stuffed and resulted in a big loss.
On defense, Greg Manusky's manufactured pass rush was nonexistent. They might have been able to get to Brady a handful of times in the first half, but that seemed to almost completely disappear after halftime. The main reason for that is a lack of talent, but Manusky does deserve some criticism for trying to cover Gronkowski one-on-one on crucial third downs.
It was clear from the start that the Colts weren't prepared for this game despite coming off of a bye, and Chuck Pagano should get some heat because of that. For the most part, Pagano made the right calls once the game began, but I still have a problem with the Colts settling for a 53-yard field goal in the third quarter down 21-10 instead of trying to convert on 4th-and-short knowing the defense was struggling.
Grade: C-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position | Grade |
| QB | B+ |
| RB | D- |
| WR/TE | B |
| OL | D |
| DL | F |
| LB | D+ |
| Secondary | C+ |
| Special Teams | A+ |
| Coaching | C- |
| Cumulative Grade | C- |
The picture of the fan above pretty accurately describes how this game went for the Colts.
Heading into Sunday night, the Colts were trying to prove that they belonged in the discussion as legitimate Super Bowl contenders coming out of the AFC. In order to be in that category, however, the Colts needed to prove that they could at least compete with both the Patriots and Denver Broncos. They made a late comeback in Week 1 against Denver, but this game against New England wasn't even close.
What does it mean? It means that the Colts are still far from a perfect team. Luck will give them a chance to win any game, but the lack of talent on defense is going to make it hard to challenge any playoff-caliber team with a strong offense.
The defense is the main concern, but the offense could be in trouble as well if Allen and Bradshaw miss significant time. Both left Sunday's game early, and considering how valuable they've been in this offense, they'd be huge losses.
Things will get better with upcoming games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington, but as of right now, the Colts have done little to prove themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders at just 6-4 with no real statement wins on their resume.
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