Patriots bully Colts with 9 sacks, a blocked punt, and a pick-6 in dominant home win
Matt Judon and Josh Uche had three sacks apiece while Jonathan Jones made a pair of huge plays right on cue.
FOXBOROUGH – To say Sam Ehlinger didn’t have much time on his dropbacks on Sunday would be an understatement.
The Patriots defense imposed its will early and often against a Colts team that was weakened by losing its top rusher Jonathan Taylor to injury. It resulted in a dominant 26-3 win at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
New England compiled nine sacks, including three apiece from Matthew Judon and Josh Uche. On one play, Judon sprinted in completely unblocked and crunched the Colts quarterback.
The most explosive spark of the game came on special teams. Jonathan Jones split out wide, acting like he was setting up to block for a punt return, only to dash up the middle and block the punt instead. The Colts were shocked, the Patriots pounced, and Brendan Schooler recovered the ball just outside of Indianapolis’ end zone.
It set up an easy 3-yard completion from Mac Jones to Rhamondre Stevenson.
Outside of that, it wasn’t a very productive outing for Jones, who was sacked four times and went 20 for 30 with 149 yards. But it was his first game of the season without an interception, which is an improvement. He had roughly 20 percent of his passing yards on one 30-yard completion to an open Hunter Henry.
Fortunately, the Patriots didn’t need much more offensively from Jones. The defense was that good. The Colts’ rushing attack was ineffective, notching just 73 yards an 21 carries. Ehlinger barely had time to get the ball out of his hands, let alone do much with it. Jonathan Jones intercepted a tipped pass and ran it back 16-yards for a touchdown.
While the Patriots weren’t able to get much going offensively, they drew close enough for Nick Folk to hit four field-goals and come away with the win.
With the win, the Patriots head into the bye-week with a record above .500 and a rematch with the Jets on the horizon.
Here’s how it happened:
Fourth Quarter
0:00: Patriots kneel and run out clock. Patriots win.
3:59: Jonathan Jones intercepts a tipped pass and runs it back 16-yards for a touchdown, putting the game out of reach. Patriots 26, Colts 3.
5:09: The Colts and Patriots each turn the ball over on downs on short drives.
10:20: The Patriots squander a 1st-and-goal opportunity, but Nick Folk hits his fourth field-goal to extend the lead. Patriots 19, Colts 3.
14:12: Mac Jones’s best throw of the day goes to an open Hunter Henry across the middle for a 30-yard gain.
Third Quarter
4:22: The drive stalls, but Nick folk is able to make another field goal. Patriots 16, Colts 3.
5:11: Jakobi Meyers makes an impressive diving catch to give the Patriots a first down.
6:17: Jones narrowly avoids another sack and finds Jonnu Smith for a 2-yard gain.
8:00: The Colts are on the board after hitting a 40-yard field-goal. Patriots 13, Colts 3.
8:37: Judon runs straight into Ehlinger untouched. Just a sprint to the QB for a 9-yard sack. Sack No. 3 of the day for the guy in the red sleeves.
12:25: Jakobi Meyers fumbles on a 9-yard completion from Jones. Colts recover.
Halftime notes
Is Mac Jones not getting enough protection? Or is he taking too long to read the defense and make decisions?
Either way, the Patriots quarterback has had far less time to operate than he’d like. He’s been sacked three times, and Rhamondre Stevenson is averaging almost as many yards per carry (4.6) as Jones is averaging yards per completion (4.8).
Matthew Judon has been tremendous, per usual. His two first half sacks put him in double-figures for the year with 10.5. And that’s just the beginning of the impact he has on the game.
Josh Uche also has a pair of sacks, and this is shaping up to be a career day for him.
Man, Jonathan Jones is fast. Seeing him motion in closer to the middle then fire off the ball like he was shot out of a cannon to block that punt was amazing. The playmaking cornerback found a way to change the game on special teams.
Second Quarter
0:00: Mac Jones takes a knee and New England heads into the locker room with a two-possession lead at the half. Patriots 13, Colts 0.
0:18: The Colts miss a 39-yard field-goal after a lengthy drive.
1:42: Patriots punt after a 2-yard run from Stevenson, an incompletion from Jones, and the line giving up another sack.
3:50: Josh Uche comes flying in off of Sam Ehlinger’s blindside for a 3rd-down sack. Colts punt.
6:12: Jones connects with Stevenson on a 3-yard touchdown pass. The one-handed grab by Rhamondre is his first career receiving TD. Patriots 13, Colts 0.
7:55: The Patriots get a stop on the replay down and Jonathan Jones blocks a punt on the next play. Brendan Schooler recovers and falls just short of the end zone.
Tremendous third-down pressure from Judon forces an illegal hands to the face penalty on No. 72 from the Colts, erasing what would have been a completion for a first down.
8:50: Stevenson gets a 2-yard gain, and Mac Jones looks for him on a pass on the next play but the ball falls to the ground incomplete. Nick Folk hits his second field-goal. Patriots 6, Colts 0.
9:47: The line opens up a huge hole for Stevenson who brings the Patriots to the Colts’ 26.
12:03: The Patriots continue their strong defensive start by forcing another 3-and-out. Ehlinger has been sacked three times, twice by Judon, with no completions. The running backs have a combined 16 yards on 7 carries.
13:30: Jones hits Jakobi Meyers over the middle for a 6-yard gain. He tried to hit Stevenson on a deep pass, but overthrew the target. Nick Folk drills a 49-yard field goal for the first score of the game. Patriots 3, Colts 0.
First Quarter
0:00: An 11 yard run from Stevenson gives the Patriots solid field position with 1st and 10 from the Indianapolis 38 to begin the second quarter. We’re still scoreless here at Gillette. Patriots 0, Colts 0.
1:03: Nice read from Jones, who saw the rush coming and deftly flicked the ball to a nearby Jonnu Smith in time. Smith, with plenty of yards after the catch, brings the Patriots across midfield.
1:47: Another three-and-out for the Colts. A pair of short runs netted five yards before Ja’Whaun Bently forced his way up the middle for a sack. Colts punt.
4:47: Jones, hanging on to the ball too long off of a play-action look, is sacked again and a third-down screen pass isn’t enough for the first. Patriots punt.
6:42: JJ Taylor is in for Rhamondre. He gets a quick pair of touches, an off tackle carry and a short pass from Jones. Jakobi Meyers gets a two-yard rush for a first down.
8:44: The Colts brought out the run-pass-option on this drive, and the Patriots were able to sniff it out. New England brought the rush on 3rd-and-8, allowing Judon to break free for his second sack of the game. Colts punt.
10:04: The Colts have done a good job bottling up Stevenson so far. He loses five yards on a carry, gets them back on the next play, giving Mac Jones 3rd-and-10 on which he gets sacked. Patriots punt.
11:24: The Colts punt after Sam Ehlinger goes 0-2 on passing attempts on his first drive.
12:42: Shortly after, Judon is whistled for a roughing the passer call.
13:39: Matthew Judon, who entered the game tied for the league lead in sacks, gets a sack on Indianapolis’ first offensive snap.
14:24: Rhamondre Stevenson is bottled up for a two yard loss, Mac Jones misses his first two passing attempts. It’s a three-and-out on the Patriots’ first drive. Patriots punt.
15:00: Colts win the toss and defer. Indianapolis’ opening kickoff goes for a touchback. Patriots start on their 25.
Breaking down the inactives, 12:00 p.m.
The Patriots will play another week without a pair of their key men in the middle.
Center David Andrews, the anchor of New England’s offensive line, will miss his second consecutive game after getting leveled on an illegal blindside block against Chicago. The Patriots gave up six sacks in his absence last week, and clearly miss him.
Defensive lineman Christian Barmore is out for the third third straight week with a knee injury. He returned to practice on Wednesday, giving some hope that he would be able to play, but was ruled out in the end.
Rhamondre Stevenson is in for another heavy workload with both Damien and Kevin Harris out. Stevenson has been one of the Patriots’ best players in recent weeks, but depth behind him could be a concern.
Inactives, 11:30 a.m.
Patriots: OL David Andrews, WR DeVante Parker, DL Christian Barmore, RB Damien Harris, RB Kevin Harris, DB Joshuah Bledsoe, DB Shaun Wade, DL Sam Roberts.
Colts: QB Matt Ryan, RB Zack Moss, RB Jonathan Taylor, DB Tony Brown, LB Grant Stuard, DL Chris Williams, OL Wesley French.
Pregame notes, 11 a.m.
Welcome to a shockingly sunny Foxborough, where it is 75 degrees two hours before kickoff on a beautiful November day.
The Patriots are set to host the Colts in the last game before New England’s bye week.
Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
But, the Colts were already expected to throw the ball a bunch anyway. With 340 passing attempts through eight games, only the Arizona Cardinals and Tom Brady-led Buccaneers have thrown the ball more than the Colts.
That’s where New England’s pass rush, which is fifth in the league in sacks, will have to come in. Linebacker Matthew Judon has been a game-changer up front. He’s tied for the league lead in sacks with 8.5.
Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson has been on a tear lately, leading the team in receiving yards during last week’s win against the Jets while chipping in 71 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has struggled since his return from a high-ankle sprain that sidelined him for three weeks.
He has one passing touchdown against two interceptions and has been sacked six times since being named the team’s starting quarterback after backup Bailey Zappe played well enough to start a controversy.
Jones has a good opportunity for a bounce-back game against the struggling Colts, who the Patriots have beaten in eight of their last nine matchups.
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