Colts still can’t compare to the Patriots
AFC title game rematch may not have gone as scripted, but the result was still decisive.
Patriots defenders weren’t fooled when the Colts lined up in a strange punt formation.
COMMENTARY
The script called for annihilation. The improvised action proved a bit more dramatic.
Fiction, fantasy, or just plain old bravado aside, the New England Patriots probably had as decent an opportunity to hang 60 on the Indianapolis Colts — like Tom Brady’s old man suggested he’d like to see — as the Colts did of showing some semblance of restraint. No, the Patriots didn’t go full-tilt on the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday night, only improving to 5-0 after a taut, 34-27 victory. The win gives Brady and head coach Bill Belichick an identical 5-0 record over Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, still 0-for-his career against the hated Pats.
The Middle Finger Tour moves on, perfection remaining a part of the narrative, but hardly a prerequisite for building the perfect type season, one that ultimately ends with a Lombardi Trophy, no matter how many regular-season plot twists occur along the way.
The Patriots could have left in defeat on Sunday. It would have been the most embarrassing loss since falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. It would have put the Patriots and (yikes) the New York Jets in a 4-1 tie for first place in the AFC East with the first meeting of the season between the two set for this weekend at Gillette Stadium. It would have given credence to every yokel with a deflated football joke to tell 10 months after late-night hacks had even deemed them passé.
The Patriots could have been better. Julian Edelman’s mangled finger may have contributed to things ultimately being so close, dropping three of Brady’s passes, including one that the Colts brought back for a touchdown on the New England field general’s first interception of the season. Luck picked apart their defensive secondary, throwing 50 times for 312 yards and three touchdowns, a seemingly gutty effort in his first game back after missing a pair with an injured throwing shoulder.
But … jeez, leave it to the Colts.
Really, the Patriots didn’t have to do much to prove themselves superior to the Colts, who emerged from Sunday’s loss an even bigger laughingstock than they began the weekend, despite Luck’s effort. Head coach Chuck Pagano had a little extra Rex Ryan in him on this night, displaying an outsized confidence in being able to outsmart Belichick that backfired faster than they called off the search party for Rob Gronkowski in the second half. First, there was the onside kick, which Pagano challenged after the referees gave possession to the Patriots. The officials may have initially announced to the crowd that it was Colts ball, but there was no clear-cut video evidence that Indianapolis had any right to it.
Then there was the ridiculous, botched fake punt on a fourth-and-three play in the third quarter. The bizarre formation had all but two Colts players lined up on the right side of the field in an apparent attempt to draw the Patriots offsides. But Indy wide receiver Griff Whalen snapped the ball to safety Colt Anderson, who looked like a confused child on the playground, diving into Brandon Bolden’s oncoming frame.
The Pats once had fourth-and-two in Indy. Now, the Colts have a fourth-and-three that has only already been called by some “The Worst Play in NFL History.’’ Move over, Butt Fumble.
“I didn’t do a good enough job of coaching it during the week,’’ Pagano said afterward. “Alignment-wise, we weren’t lined up correctly and then a communication breakdown between the quarterback and the snapper and that’s all on me.’’
Keep on shining, Indianapolis.
Belichick and the Patriots are in the heads of almost every coach and player in the NFL, leaving them to second guess their own approach and do things they normally would not. Pagano tried to be cute with trick plays, but ended up looking desperate.
Both Belichick and Brady were subdued in their own postgame press conferences (“Good win. Tough game. Competed hard. Snort.’’). There may have been little doubt that the Patriots would leave Indianapolis with their fifth win of the 2015 season. But the way they ended up with that ‘W?’ Nothing about the game came as expected.
Tackle Marcus Cannon, who replaced Nate Solder, lost for the season, on the offensive line, went down with an injury of his own (toe), thrusting Cameron Fleming into immediate action. Edelman’s finger could be a lingering concern. After the game, reporters shared the image of Matthew Slater being carted off in the tunnel beneath the cavern of silence at Lucas Oil.
The Colts leading 21-20 after the first half? Even the most ardent Indy fan couldn’t have expected that. This was supposed to go much differently, especially after all the pregame chatter had the Patriots on a mission of revenge, surely to pound the Colts into submission for being the purported whistle-blowers in Deflategate.
Instead, the Patriots got the 3-3 Colts at their best.
And their absolute worst.
There may be some team out there with the talent to beat the New England Patriots. The Jets may be that team come this weekend. The Colts could have been for the first time in seven meetings on Sunday. Perhaps they should have been.
But you don’t just pull up a seat at the chess table after years of playing with the rest of the also-rans in the checker district.
Pagano isn’t alone in thinking he can get a mental advantage over Belichick. He’s also got plenty of company in realizing how foolish the thought was.
Maybe the Patriots’ ultimate revenge is forcing the Colts to realize that they’re not as smart and not nearly as good, as they like to think they are.
Signs of Deflategate in Indy
[bdc-gallery id=”145257″]
Contact Eric Wilbur at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @GlobeEricWilbur
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com