The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) entered this matchup with some questions surrounding their ability to beat quality teams and close out opponents. They were able to do that against the New England Patriots (9-5) after almost giving up their 20-0 lead in the second half.
The offense leaned on Jonathan Taylor all night and he put together another line to his MVP resume. His 67-yard touchdown run to help put the nail in the coffin was quite a moment for the young player and it erupted Lucas Oil Stadium. The offense did leave more to be desired but it doesn’t come as a surprise when you go up against the Bill Belichick-led defense.
The Indianapolis defense fed off the energy of the crowd and was flying all over the field to close down rushing lanes. They kept Mac Jones confused early in the game and picked him off on back-to-back drives. Special teams played a factor in getting this win. Matthew Adams was able to get his hands on a block and E.J. Speed was able to recover it to get his second punt block return touchdown this season. He is the first player to do that since Ed Reed in 2003.
I am looking forward to seeing Bubba Ventrone predicting another blocked punt on the upcoming Hard Knocks episode. Frank Reich said he did all week. This took all three phases to show up in moments throughout the game for the Colts to beat the Patriots for the first time since 2009.
Here are my top five takeaways from the game: