Patriots Game 8: Patriots 15 – Colts 18
The Good:
The passing game looks to be improving under QB Matt Cassel. His throws are becoming more accurate and he is not taking as many sacks. Cassel was not sacked once in the game.
Rookie LB Jerod Mayo was consistently around the ball, finishing with a team-high 11 tackles (8 solo).
The Patriots limit the Colts to 47 yards on 21 carries (2.2 avg.)
Rookie RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis gave the Patriots a 12-7 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The scoring run was Green-Ellis’s third of the season, the third of his career and his third in as many weeks.
The Patriots out gained the Colts in total net yardage, 342-301 and out rushed the Colts 140-47.
The Bad:
The Colts made two trips into the red zone and came away with touchdowns both times. New England, on the other hand, settled for field goals on three of their four trips inside the Indianapolis 20.
TE David Thomas was flagged for unnecessary roughness penalty that knocks the Patriots out of field goal range with 4:45 to go in the game (which would have tied up the game).
WR Jabar Gaffney dropped a would-be touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter.
The Patriots allowed Manning 21-of-29 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, his best performance of the season
The Patriots were called for a false start penalty in the third quarter, breaking a streak of seven penalty-free quarters.
The Ugly:
Adam Vinatieri hits a 52-yard field goal with 8:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving the Colts an 18-15 lead. The kick was Vinatieri's longest since a 57-yarder at Chicago on Nov. 10, 2002, and it should have come as no surprise to the Patriots, who used Vinatieri's right foot to win two Super Bowl titles.
This game ended when Colts safety Bob Sanders intercepted Matt Cassel on fourth-and-15 with 4:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Patriots had been in range for a game-tying field goal until a personal foul on TE David Thomas two plays earlier moved them back to the Colts' 46. Prior to this series, the Patriots looked extremely good on the evening.
The use of time-outs in this game was awful. When you needed them most, they were gone!
Final Thoughts:
“So, we’ve come out here the last couple of times and it has been just like this – the last possession, the last couple of plays. So, that’s how I would describe the game tonight. The Colts made a couple of more play than we did. We had our chances, disappointing but we have some pretty good games coming up; a game against Buffalo and we are going to turn out sights towards that.” -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick
“I hit it pretty well. It left my foot, and I hit it pretty well. I looked and saw the flag on the ground and I was like, ‘Please be on them.’ It was one of those where until you know, you don’t know, but yeah, when it left my foot it felt pretty good.” -- Colts Kicker Adam Vinatieri (on his 52-yard field goal)
“It was a mistake by me. Obviously they called it and I feel that it was a critical mistake by me and it really cost the team.” -- Patriots TE David Thomas(on his personal foul)
“They rely on me to make catches in tough situations. It’s the fourth quarter to put us up, they came back kicked a field goal and end up winning by three. If I make that touchdown we are up by one instead of down by three.” -- Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney
On an 11-yard reception in the second quarter, RB Kevin Faulk recorded his 3,000th receiving yard, becoming the 14th player in Patriots history to break the 3,000 receiving yard mark.
With seven catches, WR Wes Welker joined former Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith as the only players in NFL history to have at least six receptions in their team's first seven games of the season.
The 5-3 Patriots are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East, along with the New York Jets and this Sunday's opponent, the Buffalo Bills, while the Dolphins are 4-4.
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