The New England Patriots lassoed the Indianapolis Colts 26-3 in a dominating defensive performance. Life was miserable for Colts QB Sam Ehlinger as the Patriots sacked him nine times and forced an interception.
The Colts couldn’t get anything going with only 121 yards of total offense in a brutal road loss. The Patriots have improved to 5-4 with this win, and things are finally starting to look up.
Or are they?
It has been difficult for the Patriots offense to find any sort of consistency or rhythm with new play-callers and Mac Jones’ health this season, thus far. This week was only Jones’ fifth outing, and I thought he and the offense started to click late in the game.
The thing with Jones and any young quarterback is that they need to play with confidence and to get into a rhythm. It is extremely hard to do that when you change schemes and overhaul the offensive line in a year where the quarterback is forced to sit out for extended periods of time with a high ankle sprain.
Jones is back, and the goal is to continuously build each week. This week was a start, as Jones played turnover-free football and started to make correct reads, which is something he was struggling to do in his limited time on the field.