5 takeaways from the Patriots’ 38-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts
The Patriots made huge strides Thursday night.
COMMENTARY
Five takeaways from the Patriots’ 38-24 triumph over the Colts, which saw New England’s offense take another step forward with the return of a big asset…
The talent pool doesn’t seem so shallow anymore.
After the embarrassment of that frustrating Sunday night in Detroit, Patriots fans grasping at optimism did so looking forward to the day when the Patriots were working at a capacity closer to full-strength, and had their complete compliment of weapons.
That moment arrived Thursday night. And it didn’t even take an entire series to see why the hysteria over the level of talent around Tom Brady might be simply hysterical when someday looking back on the panic of this September.
Julian Edelman joined Josh Gordon among the additions New England has made to its receiving corps since that loss to the Lions, and the Pats wasted no time – almost literally, considering they spent much of their first series in a hurry-up set – in taking advantage of all the choices suddenly at Brady’s disposal. He went right to Edelman on the first play of the game. After a couple of runs, he threw to Cordarelle Patterson. Then Phillip Dorsett. Edelman again. Then Rob Gronkowski. The next two went to White, then back to Edelman before a quick screen to Patterson.
Touchdown, Patriots. Nine completions on nine throws for Brady, to five different receivers, and good for all but two of the Pats’ 75 yards on a six-minute march. New England followed that up with a 72-yard scoring drive on its third possession, and in between the quarterback’s only incompletion came when Edelman dropped a wide-open ball that would’ve gone for a big gain on third down.
Chris Hogan and Sony Michel also got involved in the aerial attack before the first half was finished, and while Gordon’s immersion remains a work in progress – despite his late touchdown on a broken play – it is worth remembering that only three days of preparation time separated his first and second games as a Patriot. The return of Edelman and the continued presence of Gronkowski should afford that process some patience, and the schedule will help, too, with the Pats not back in action until Oct. 14. That game will be against the Chiefs, who might be the best team in the AFC.
Although that might yet be a claim the Patriots could make themselves, given the gains their offense has made.
Brady looked like Brady
It has mostly been forgotten — and rightfully so, given that the quarterback racked up 1,132 yards, had an 8:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and keyed a fourth-quarter comeback in the AFC title tilt in three postseason games. But Brady experienced some struggles over the final five weeks of the 2017 regular season.
Combine that stretch with the middle-of-the-pack output he put up over the first four weeks of this year, and here are Brady’s numbers over the nine most recent regular-season games leading into Thursday: 62.7 percent completion percentage, 236 yards per game, 15 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 87.1 passer rating. By comparison, over the nine games before that, Brady hit on 70 percent of his throws, averaged 296 yards per game, and had 23 TDs to three picks.
Thursday night’s stat line wound up nearer to the more recent numbers than those on which Brady’s 2017 MVP season was effectively founded. That’s because of the two interceptions charged to Brady in the second half – but both of those came on balls that bounced off the hands of receivers Brady had hit. And they shouldn’t spoil what was otherwise a masterpiece from the 41-year-old GOAT.
Brady was accurate, he was intense, he was under control, and he was surgical. Even on a short week he looked as comfortable as he has all season, surpassed the 300-yard mark for the first time this campaign (341 yards), and were it not for the aforementioned series of drops he would’ve entered garbage time with a completion percentage pushing 90.
His third touchdown of the night was the 500th of his career. Fittingly, it came on a night where Brady offered some reassurance that there could be quite a few more still to come.
The defense had its moments, but …
At times, the Patriots defense appeared to fulfill the promise of aggressiveness that was teased in the course of the preseason. An early blitz brought three defenders into the face of Andrew Luck on the way to a sack. Adrian Clayborn pushed the pocket just before halftime, creating Patrick Chung’s interception. Then Devin McCourty ripped the ball away from Jordan Wilkins and created a fumble.
However, it was the liabilities of that defense – and McCourty in particular – that the Colts were able to exploit in the process of closing to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. McCourty finished the night with a team-high 14 tackles, though that was in part a result of how often Indianapolis threw his way, and even that total doesn’t include the two times he was targeted by the Colts and the play resulted in touchdowns.
One of those came against Eric Ebron, who was starting because Jack Doyle is injured. The other came against Erik Swoope, who was signed off the practice squad this week, and only getting that chance because Ebron was ailing. (Swoope nearly scored on McCourty again, but on video review it was determined that he was down a half-yard short of the goal line.)
In addition to Doyle, and then Ebron, the Colts’ attack was also missing its No. 1 receiver with T.Y. Hilton inactive because of injury. Its offensive line was depleted, too, yet the Colts still put together three second-half scoring drives. Still converted seven of 15 tries on third down. And still managed to pick up 20 first downs through the air.
Were it not for a deflected ball that bounced the Patriots’ way, and into the arms of cornerback Jonathan Jones, the fourth quarter would’ve been much less comfortable given the way Indianapolis made New England’s defense look for much of the second half.
Turnover totals are out of whack
With the interceptions by Jones and Chung, plus the stolen fumble by McCourty, the Patriots have now forced 10 turnovers this season. Last year they didn’t create their 10th takeaway until returning from their bye in Week 10. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that last year the Patriots didn’t commit their ninth giveaway until December 11th – but this season’s ninth turnover for the Pats offense came Thursday night, with Brady’s sixth interception of the season (and fifth in the past three weeks).
So, then, a key for New England’s fortunes this season could be the answer to the question of which of those trends returns to normal sooner.
The Patriots haven’t been a defense that creates a lot of turnovers in recent seasons, though it hasn’t harmed them often because they have typically protected their possessions at an historical level. Year-in, year-out, their turnover totals have consistently ranked among the NFL’s lowest, and that has coincided with their consistent rank among the highest-scoring teams in the league. The last two weeks, the Pats have survived four turnovers and still managed to score 38 points in each of those games.
That doesn’t seem to be a sustainable recipe for success. But if New England can get prove that this stretch is an aberration, especially if still managing to stay ahead of pace with the takeaways, they should continue to climb toward a more familiar place in the standings.
“We have a 93 percent chance of winning when we don’t turn the ball over,” Brady claimed, “so that’s pretty good.”
Offensive line meets a challenge
The Colts piled up 17 sacks through the first four weeks of the season, good for second-most across the NFL. They’d also yielded just 3.9 yards per rush attempt. They presented a challenge for the Patriots up front.
For the second time in five days, however, New England’s offensive line stood up to a stiff test and proved its wares with a physical performance that allowed it to control the line of scrimmage. After paving the way for Michel’s 112-yard performance against Miami, they helped spring him for 98 more against Indianapolis, including the massive edge they created en route to his 34-yard scamper. And against a front that specializes in getting to the passer, they kept the Colts from sacking Brady and instead allowed the quarterback to operate comfortably.
In that loss to the Lions, the Patriots offensive line looked overmatched against a unit that had been dominated to that point (and hasn’t played particularly well since, either). On a night where effort looked to be lacking, the line led the list of offenders. There was little push, and disappointing protection.
Since then — like the team as a whole — that group has certainly responded.
