A solid run defence was not enough for the Patriots to overcome the Colts in a game where both teams were looking to assert their dominance on their respective divisions. Despite allowing only 47 yards in rushing it was Peyton Manning and his passing efficiency that put the game out of the Pats reach.
Two touchdown passes from Manning to Gonzalez, in indentical situaitons, was enough to put the game beyond New England.
The Colts started strong with a 91 yard drive which ended in the first of Gonzalez' touchdown receptions.
New England could only respond with two field goals in the first half to go in at the break losing 7-6.
New England started the second half strong when BenJarvus Green-Ellis took a draw play into the endzone for the Pats first touchdown of the game. The decision to go for a two point conversion proved costly as Kevin Faulk was stopped inches short.
The following Colts' possession began with good field postion after a kick return to midfield. With only half the field to attack Peyton Manning found a rhythm in the passing game with completions to Reggie Wayne. Once again Manning found Anthony Gonlalez in what seemed a dejavu from the first half. The Colts' went for a two point conversion and the attempt was successful.
The third quarter ended with the Colts' leading 15-12. The Pats had a chance to take the lead before the end of the quarter but the ball slipped through Jabar Gaffney's hands and fell incomplete. The drive continued into the next quarter and finished with a field goal.
The Colts' next possession ended with a 52 yard field goal from Adam Vinateri. The kick was the first kick Vinateri has made of over 50 yards in 91 games.
The next Patriot drive ended in disaster, after a unnecessary roughness penalty took them out of field goal range, followed by Cassel throwing an interception straight to Bob Sanders.
The Colts took advantage of New England's lack of time outs and ran down the clock. When the Pats did get the ball they only had 29 seconds. Matt Cassel was unable to move the ball down field and the Colts won the game.
1 comment:
How different the game could have been if Jabar Gaffney could catch!!! New England’s inability to convert red zone opportunities and settling for field goals have proven costly.
The Patriots defence were undone this week by Manning’s ability to spread the football. Wide receivers Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez along with tight end Dallas Clark all combined catching at least 4 pass for 50 yards. The colts rushed for a total of 47 yards off 21 carries, averaging a poor 2.2 yards per carry, however Manning completed 72% of his passes and averaged an impressive 8.8 yards per attempted. When New England double covered Harrison, Clark was open, double cover Clark and the deep threat of Wayne is to dangerous to ignore, this proved even more effective in the red zone. The Pats attention turns to the usual targets of Harrison and Clark allowing for Anthony Gonzalez, the second year wide out, to catch two red zone passes, the stand out player of the game for me.
Post a Comment