5 takeaways from Colts’ 27-17 win over Patriots
The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) entered this matchup with some questions surrounding their ability to beat quality teams and close out opponents. They were able to do that against the New England Patriots (9-5) after almost giving up their 20-0 lead in the second half.
The offense leaned on Jonathan Taylor all night and he put together another line to his MVP resume. His 67-yard touchdown run to help put the nail in the coffin was quite a moment for the young player and it erupted Lucas Oil Stadium. The offense did leave more to be desired but it doesn’t come as a surprise when you go up against the Bill Belichick-led defense.
The Indianapolis defense fed off the energy of the crowd and was flying all over the field to close down rushing lanes. They kept Mac Jones confused early in the game and picked him off on back-to-back drives. Special teams played a factor in getting this win. Matthew Adams was able to get his hands on a block and E.J. Speed was able to recover it to get his second punt block return touchdown this season. He is the first player to do that since Ed Reed in 2003.
I am looking forward to seeing Bubba Ventrone predicting another blocked punt on the upcoming Hard Knocks episode. Frank Reich said he did all week. This took all three phases to show up in moments throughout the game for the Colts to beat the Patriots for the first time since 2009.
Here are my top five takeaways from the game:
Jonathan Taylor with another MVP performance
A running back hasn’t won the MVP award since Adrian Peterson in 2012. Taylor is continuing to make a strong case that not only he should be talked about winning the award, but he should be the front runner. The Colts’ offense runs through the stud back and he put his team on his back tonight to help beat the Patriots. On a night that Carson Wentz only had 57 yards,
Taylor touched the ball 29 times, went for 170 rushing yards, and punched in a touchdown for the 11th game in a row. He now has more rushing touchdowns than 18 NFL teams entering Sunday. He has rushed for 313 yards over his past two games. It was a hard-earned night for the running back because the Patriots’ defense tightened up against the run after the first touchdown drive by the Colts.
Frank Reich still stuck with his back throughout the night and kept hammering him away at their defensive front. In a crucial moment where New England could have gotten the ball back with time to tie it up or take the lead, Taylor broke off a 67-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. According to Next Gen Stats, he reached 22.13 MPH on that run, which is the fastest speed by a ball carrier this season. He is responsible for three of the top five fastest plays this season. Taylor is playing on another level and if closes the final three games out like this, plus gets his team into the post-season, then he could be holding the MVP trophy to cap off his second year in the NFL.
Defense backs up their word
The defense shut out out the New England offense for the first three quarters and delivered on putting this game on Mac Jones’ shoulders to win this game. The first step was to make them one-dimensional and shut down their rushing attack. The Patriots ran the ball 19 times for 81 yards. Their leading rusher, Rhamondre Stevenson, was held to 3.6 YPC.
The Colts forced three straight punts to start the game and the second one resulted in the blocked punt touchdown. That led to the double-digit lead to help shift the New England offense to start opening up their passing attack. The Indianapolis defense followed up those drives with an interception to end the last Patriots drive of the first half and another one on their opening drive of the third quarter.
Darius Leonard was the first to pick off Mac Jones when they were inside the 20-yard line. Bobby Okereke made an outstanding play to stretch out and get his interception on the third play of the second half. The defense would go on to force a turnover on downs on the following drive but the offense failed to get points because of a missed field goal. They did let up two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter but they were on the field a lot in the second half because the offense couldn’t sustain drives.
Overall, it was a good night for Matt Eberflus’ defense and they have now created 31 turnovers this season. There is still more to work on as a unit but they have to be pleased with their effort against New England.
Rough night for Carson Wentz
It wasn’t all flowers and rainbows for the Colts tonight. This is a game that could’ve been over before Jonathan Taylor’s game-winning touchdown run. But the offense couldn’t keep drives alive when the Patriots’ defense was keeping the rushing attack in check. Wentz wasn’t called upon often, only threw the ball 12 times. When Frank Reich did dial up a pass play, it felt like there were more bad moments than good.
His throws were off throughout the night. He just overthrew a wide-open Michael Pittman Jr. on the first drive of the game which led a three-and-out. His ball placement on a third-and-goal throw to Mo Alie-Cox was a tad too high, but that was one the tight end should have caught. His second half was one of the worst that he had this season. He made questionable decisions and poor throws that he got lucky on until it caught up to him.
After two dropped interception opportunities, the New England defense was able to bring in a tipped pick after Wentz decided to force a throw into triple coverage. This came after picking up a first down on the drive that followed the first Patriots touchdown. There wasn’t a pass attempt after that. If there was one thing that went his way was his QB sneaks. He was able to convert three of them on fourth-and-short situations throughout the night. He was also used on designed runs and ended up having more rushing attempts (eight) than pass completions (five).
He finished with 17 rushing yards and his legs did help burn time to help close out the game in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t a memorable performance by the quarterback but luckily for him his running back was able to save the day for the offense.
DeForest Buckner, Darius Leonard, and Kenny Moore II show up
Great defenses have playmakers on all three levels of the unit and that is what the Colts have in their unit. It starts with DeForest Buckner upfront. The big fella was dominant in the trenches all night against the run and was doing his best to fight through double teams to get pressure on Mac Jones.
Buckner finished with four tackles (three solo), one TFL, two QB hits, and a sack. Darius Leonard was doing his maniac things throughout out the night. After getting hurt in the first quarter, he immediately returned and helped shut down the New England offense.
He was flying all over the field, he ended his day with 10 tackles (eight solo), one TFL, one QB hit, one PD, and one interception. He had a couple of close calls when he peanut punched another ball out but the Patriots recovered it. He also got close for his first sack of the season but affected the throw by Jones. He has now been involved with 11 turnovers this season.
Kenny Moore II was once again sticky in coverage and coming up to help stuff the run. He had back-to-back players where he got his hands on a deflection then helped force a hold when he almost blew up a run play. Moore II had six tackles (5 solo), one TFL, and two PD.
The Indianapolis defense is hard to play against when these three players are at their best.
Lucas Oil Stadium was buzzing
This was the loudest that Lucas Oil has been in quite some time and it had an impact on the outcome of this game. The team felt the energy throughout the stadium and they rode it to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The defense fed off of it and it benefited them throughout the game.
The Patriots’ offense had a delay of game call and false start penalties that hurt drives. It happened on their first drive when Mac Jones didn’t get the snap off on time which put their offense in a second-and-19 situation. That led to it ending on a DeForest Buckner sack. When New England was driving at the end of the first half, on a second-and-one at the Colts’ 13-yard line, Jonnu Smith was credited for a false start to make it second-and-six.
A couple of plays later on a third down, Darius Leonard got his interception. The last big false start happened on the Patriots’ field goal drive during a third-and-goal situation at the two-yard line. That pushed their offense back and they ended up settling for three points.
Overall, New England had eight penalties for 50 yards. Indianapolis only had two for 13 yards. Frank Reich gave a game ball to the fans and they deserved it.
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