Patriots vs. Colts: New England Grades, Notes and Quotes
It might not have been the blowout many anticipated, but the New England Patriots did just enough to take the air out of Lucas Oil Stadium, holding off the Indianapolis Colts, 34-27.
In moving their record to 5-0, the Patriots recorded what was likely their most satisfying win of the season, even if the team's workmanlike demeanor wouldn't suggest that this win was any different from the other four.
For the first 30 minutes, though, it appeared the Colts had a real chance to spoil New England's redemption tour. The offenses traded touchdowns to open the game, with Donte Moncrief and Julian Edelman capping off respective 80-plus-yard drives. The Pats subsequently drove down the field on the strength of three Edelman receptions but settled for a 40-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal to go up 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.
However, Edelman was at the center of a shocking momentum turn, bobbling a pass which Colts safety Mike Adams snagged out of the air and returned for a touchdown. Indy doubled down following the pick-six with an onside kick, but New England recovered and retook the lead, 17-14, after a 38-yard LeGarrette Blount touchdown.
The half ended with the game's fourth lead change, as Luck tossed his second touchdown on a scramble drill to T.Y. Hilton, giving the Colts a 21-20 halftime lead. The Pats answered on the opening drive of the second half, with Rob Gronkowski coming alive for a 25-yard touchdown to put New England up, 27-21.
The turning point subsequently came with 1:14 left in the third quarter, when a bizarre fake punt from Indianapolis failed, setting the Patriots offense up at the Indy 36-yard line. The offense would punch it in, with Blount scoring his second touchdown on the night, giving New England its first two-possession lead of the game.
The fourth quarter was rather sleepy, given the score, as the teams traded four punts before Indy turned it over on downs in desperation time. The Colts added a junk-time touchdown with just over a minute left but failed to recover the onside kick to extend the game.
Read on for full grades and postgame analysis from New England's win, which was the Patriots' seventh straight over their longtime AFC rivals.
Position Grades for Patriots
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | A |
| WR | B |
| TE | B |
| OL | B+ |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B- |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | A- |
Despite throwing his first interception of the season, Tom Brady was largely in control. Brady went 23-for-37 with 312 yards and three touchdowns, delivering his usual combination of high volume and efficiency.
With a healthy average of 8.4 yards per attempt, Brady was able to consistently punish Indy's defense, despite a Colts game plan which focused on eliminating the in-breaking intermediate routes which represent the lifeblood of New England's passing game.
The skill positions were more of a mixed bag. Blount did not break the 100-yard threshold due to New England's pass-heavy game plan, but Blount did average 5.8 yards per carry and reached the end zone twice.
Edelman had his roughest day of the year, dropping three passes and suffering an ugly dislocated pinky finger. Gronkowski was also held in check, failing to record a catch in the first half and catching just three passes on the night.
The defense's story was a tale of two halves, as we'll discuss soon. Chandler Jones snapped his two-game sackless streak with 2.5 sacks of Andrew Luck, while Malcolm Butler rebounded after a rough start. Butler was in solo coverage on Donte Moncrief's five-yard fade-route touchdown which opened the game's scoring but was otherwise effective.
The linebacker trio of Jamie Collins, Jerod Mayo and Jonathan Freeny was probably the team's weakest unit, struggling in pass coverage and helping concede 6.0 yards per carry to Frank Gore.
Special teams were involved on the game's biggest play, and Brandon Bolden gets credit for stopping Colt Anderson a yard behind the line of scrimmage on Indy's ill-fated fake. Additionally, Jamie Collins made a highly athletic play to block an extra point on the Colts' final score, leaping over the long-snapper and jumping so high that the ball grazed off his knee and kept New England's lead at 34-27.
Defense Turns Around in 2nd Half
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For much of this game, it appeared the Pats and Colts would engage in the type of track meet that used to happen regularly in the Peyton Manning era but had yet to materialize with Andrew Luck facing off against Brady. In racing out to a trio of touchdowns, including Adams' stunning pick-six, the Colts matched the Patriots blow-for-blow over the first 30 minutes.
However, Indy's first five second-half drives resulted in a grand total of 40 net yards. The Colts picked up three first downs in that stretch, and though New England didn't necessarily run away, the ability to control possession for most of the second half enabled the Pats to build up the two-possession lead which kept Indianapolis at arm's length during the fourth quarter.
Pressure was the key in that pivotal five-drive stretch for the Patriots defense. The Pats took down Luck twice over those five drives, while rushing him enough to siphon off any deep shots Indy may have designed. Top receiver T.Y. Hilton had just one target on those five drives, illustrating how the Colts were most limited to dump-offs underneath.
New England's defensive personnel is inferior to the unit it rolled out last season, but over the first four games the 2015 rendition had posted superior numbers. And when faced with their toughest challenge and longest stretch of adversity this season, the defense answered the call, an encouraging sign for its long-term sustainability.
Vollmer and Fleming Hold Up at Tackle
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Nate Solder's torn bicep, which forced him to injured reserve, was New England's first big injury casualty of the 2015 season. And within one quarter, Solder's replacement, Marcus Cannon, was sent to the sideline, leaving the Pats scrambling at a highly inopportune time.
Fortunately, the bookend tandem of Sebastian Vollmer, who flipped to the left side, and Cameron Fleming at right tackle held up sufficiently. Fleming, a 2014 fourth-rounder who was just promoted from the practice squad this week, actually had his coming-out party last year at Lucas Oil Stadium, when he played nearly half the team's snaps as a sixth offensive lineman in a run-heavy game plan.
This season, Fleming had significantly more responsibilities in pass protection but emerged unscathed while opposite the likes of Trent Cole, Robert Mathis and Jonathan Newsome. The Patriots also clearly preferred to keep Vollmer at his customary right side, but apart from a holding call, the veteran was solid in his first prolonged exposure to the blind side.
If Vollmer continues to perform well, perhaps the Patriots will consider keeping him at left tackle and playing Cannon (assuming he returns at some point) at right tackle, where he excelled during the 2013 season.
Regardless, tackle looked like New England's deepest offensive position headed into the season. The Patriots surely did not want to lean on said depth so heavily at this juncture of the season, but it was encouraging to see the "next man up" philosophy fulfilled on Sunday.
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Injuries Take Their Toll
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After a healthy first three weeks, the Patriots have ostensibly suffered major injuries to starters in their first two games back from the bye. Jabaal Sheard, Marcus Cannon and Matthew Slater all went down, with the latter two exiting in the first half and Slater going down with a potentially serious knee injury at the end of the fourth quarter.
We've already talked about how Vollmer and Fleming held up ably in Cannon's stead, but if the lumbering tackle misses more time with the toe injury he suffered during the game, the Pats will suddenly be paper-thin at tackle.
New England doesn't have another natural tackle on the roster; undrafted rookie Blaine Clausell and Chris Barker (who played tackle during the preseason) loom as potential promotion candidates from the practice squad.
Sheard, meanwhile, probably has the sunniest outlook of the three. The third defensive end in New England's edge-rushing rotation, Sheard left with an ankle injury and didn't return to the game. However, in the postgame interviews, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss, Sheard said that he didn't foresee the ankle turning into a long-term issue and that his removal was more of a precautionary measure.
Slater might be the likeliest long-term loss, as he appeared in severe pain and walked off gingerly while two teammates helped him off the field. The broadcast suggested that Slater had suffered a right knee injury, leaving ligament damage as a speculative possibility.
A special teams captain and one of the most respected voices in the locker room, a long-term injury to Slater would be quietly debilitating.
Blount: First TD Catch Since High School
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If nothing else, LeGarrette Blount will go down in Patriots lore for his uncanny ability to shred Indianapolis. Though he didn't have as much volume as he did during his past two games against Indy, when he rushed for a combined 314 yards and seven touchdowns, Blount was still incredibly effective on a per-play basis, compiling 114 yards from scrimmage and scoring twice.
Blount's 11-yard touchdown reception was a somewhat shocking development, as it was just his second catch of the year and eighth overall in 25 regular-season games in New England. Coming late in the down as Brady scrambled out of the pocket, it was also the crucial nail in the coffin, putting New England up 34-21 at the start of the fourth quarter.
It was Blount's first receiving touchdown as a pro, and as the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels relayed after the game, probably Blount's first in over a decade:
"Blount said he doesn't remember the last time he caught a TD pass: "Probably high school."
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) October 19, 2015"
Indeed, it doesn't appear that Blount scored during either of his two seasons at Oregon, marking a jackpot for the Patriots and Blount's fantasy owners alike. Though Dion Lewis again received the most snaps at the position, it was Blount who once again inflicted the most trauma on the Colts.
Logan Ryan: Confusion on Fake Punt
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If Indianapolis flames out this season, its disastrous fake punt attempt will go down as one of the season's defining lowlights.
For the Patriots, the chaotic play rewarded Bill Belichick's constant harping on situational football. After the game, Logan Ryan detailed the Pats' plan on the play, via Daniels and the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe:
"Ryan: I was like, look if they snap it, lets just jump him and tackle him because I don’t know how they’re going to block 3 of us with 1 guy
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) October 19, 2015"
"Logan Ryan: "I think there was a lot of confusion out there, honestly. I don’t know what the goal of that play was."
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) October 19, 2015"
Colt Anderson appeared surprised at receiving the snap, and broadcast cameras clearly illustrated Chuck Pagano's confusion at Griff Whalen's snapping the ball. It's hard to believe the Colts would actually ask wide receiver Whalen to block three Patriots, even with just three yards to go on fourth down, as the bizarre formation with nine Indianapolis players split far out wide was likely just a ploy to get the Pats to jump offside or burn a timeout.
Instead, it led to the score which represented the margin of difference in this game. That play will surely end up in the dustbin for Indianapolis, and perhaps other teams will think twice about executing fakes on New England when seeing how the Pats handled this situation.
Rob Ninkovich: Colts Passing Was Conservative
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Andrew Luck has been one of the league's best deep-ball throwers since entering the league in 2012, and with his return to the lineup, one would have expected a more aggressive passing attack than the one Matt Hasselbeck led the past two games.
However, according to CSNNE's Michael Giardi, Rob Ninkovich didn't believe the Colts strayed much from the foundation they laid under Hasselbeck:
"Ninkovich said he didn't recall Luck taking one 7-step drop in the 1st half. Said game was called similarly to how it's been with Hasselbeck
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 19, 2015"
A quick look at the box score shows that Luck averaged a meager 6.2 yards per attempt, with two completions that went over 20 yards.
New England lost its fair share of battles on the perimeter, with Malcolm Butler and Devin McCourty standing out on multiple plays in negative fashion. However, limiting Luck to 30-for-50 passing despite a lack of significant deep targets is a big win for any defense.
Though Luck may have been slightly diminished, it's hard to pick out a tougher passing challenge the defense will face the rest of the season. Peyton Manning is a shell of himself in Denver, while the jury is still out on Eli Manning's Giants and Sam Bradford's Eagles, two teams the Pats will face in the second half of the season.
By holding its own against Luck, New England proved capable of handling any other passing game it will face during the rest of the regular season.
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