Patriots vs Colts Recap

New England loses to Peyton and Indiana 18-15

Offense: The Patriots were able to keep the game close, but a silly mistake in the fourth quarter cost them the chance at a potential victory. Trailing 18-15 with about four minutes remaining, a New England personal foul took the team out of field goal range and a failed fourth down conversion practically sealed the game for the Colts. The Patriots were successful at running the ball, with Ben Jarvus Green Ellis and Kevin Faulk sharing the carries and combining for 117 yards. Running up the middle provided consistent gains and showed the offensive line could make blocks. The rushing attack was a boost for Cassel as he was able to make some throws in short yardage situations and it took the pressure off him in this huge matchup. On each drive, the Patriots took a conservative approach in calling pass plays, focusing on short sideline routes and check down passes in the middle of the field. Rarely did Cassel attempt a deep pass and most of the passes were caught less than ten yards from the line of scrimmage. The Colts appeared willing to give up the routes and force the Patriots to put together long drives. If it wasn't for the personal foul penalty that cost the team a potential game tying field goal and a dropped touchdown pass earlier in the third quarter, the Patriots may have won the game. Once again, Randy Moss was the leading receiver with 65 receiving yards but did not have a long yardage reception. Obviously since the offense is not explosive anymore, New England will need to take advantage of every scoring situation and keep mistakes to a minimum.

Defense: The Patriots tried to turn the Colts offense into a one dimensional attack and it had mixed results. Stopping the run came with relative ease since the Colts were held to only 47 yards and could not gain anything up the middle. The defensive line got good penetration on rushing plays and linebackers also made good tackles. Stopping tha pass was not easy and the Colts completed a very high percentage of their throws. New England took away the deep routes and the quick score ability of Peyton Manning and his receivers but gave up too many yards after the catch and that resulted in additional scoring chances. Manning found open receivers for short five or ten yard gains and that provided more first downs and eventually the game winning field goal. The Patriots allowed a lot of yards after the catch on sideline routes and when the Colts were able to catch the ball in open space, the Patriots couldn't make tackles. The defense didn't make any big mistakes and besides the shaky tackling on some pass plays, performed fairly well. In the last few games, stopping the run has been a strength and has created tougher third down conversion attempts and forced teams into relying on the pass. Better tackling on short passes would definitely stop more drives and force the opponent off the field. New England comes close to stopping teams or sealing the game but can never actually do it on the defensive end. In the second half of the season, they will have to as the competition gets tougher and teams start to figure them out.

Special Teams: Stephen Gostkowski made all three field goals, Chris Hanson punted once for 64 yards and the Patriots averaged 24 yards on kickoff returns and 12 yards on punt returns.

By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent