Another big play for Sanders

By Chad Finn

November 21, 2010

3 minutes to read

The knock against James Sanders during his six seasons playing safety for the Patriots is that he doesn’t make enough big plays.

After his performance the last two weeks, he won’t be accused of such a flaw anytime soon.

Sanders made the biggest play in a game filled with big plays, intercepting Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on a pass intended for Pierre Garcon at the Patriots 6-yard line with 31 seconds remaining and the home team clinging to a 31-28 lead.

Sanders’s spectacular leaping grab — Patriots coach Bill Belichick pointed out in the postgame that he “caught the ball at the pinnacle of the throw” — wasn’t just an interception but also a save, for it prevented the Colts from pulling off an improbable fourth-quarter comeback after trailing 28-14 after three.

“As a defense we knew, if we didn’t make a play, we were going to lose the game,” said Sanders. “They weren’t going to just give it to us. We had to go there, made a play at the end, and we came out on top.”

Sanders credited linebacker Gary Guyton with a jam on tight end Jacob Tamme that threw off Manning.

“Me and Gary Guyton had to double on the tight end, and looking through [Jacob] Tamme, at Peyton, I saw that he saw, once I stepped down, that he had one on one with the corner, so I tried to drop back at the last second and help. Gary had a big jam on the tight end. Gave me a chance to sit back and read Peyton, and an opportunity to make a play.”

It’s the second week in a row that Sanders has made not only a big play, but a clinching play. Last Sunday at Pittsburgh, his fourth quarter interception of a Ben Roethlisberger throw and ensuing 32-yard return for a touchdown iced New England’s 39-26 victory. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his effort.

While Sanders has often been lauded by Belichick for his knowledge of the defense, his knack for big plays is a new development. Entering today’s game, he had accumulated just six interceptions and forced two fumbles in 77 career games. But he’s trending the right way — today’s interception tied his single-season career high of two.

And it’s always an added bonus to outwit Manning.

“We tried to disguise the whole game, keep [Manning] guessing,” Sanders said. “At times our disguises worked, at times they didn’t work. He’s one of the best quarterbacks to play this game. It’s tough as a defense to hold those disguises. If you’re not sound in all areas, he can hurt you.”

He wasn’t the only Patriots defensive back to get a souvenir from Manning. Brandon Meriweather thwarted the Colts’ first possession, picking off a Manning pass and returning it 39 yards. And Devin McCourty, the stellar rookie cornerback, intercepted his team-leading third pass of the season with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter, stalling another promising Colts drive with the Patriots holding a 28-14 lead.

“Playing against a guy like [Manning], a future Hall of Famer, just for a rookie to get an interception, I was all smiles,” McCourty said. “I just looked back and saw the ball, and just went up and got it.”

Just as Sanders did awhile later — with the outcome hanging in the balance.

“That was big, they were making some big drives,” McCourty said. “We knew it coming into this game, from watching film last year, that Peyton’s capable of bringing that team back, and James [Sanders] made a great play at the end of the game just to seal it.”