Another Pats-Colts Classic Ends With A Manning Mistake
Monday, November 22, 2010
One thing you can say for sure about a Patriots-Colts game is that it’s never boring!
For a while it looked as if the Pats would cruise to an easy win over the Colts as they won the battle on all three fronts – offense, defense and special teams. But when you’re facing one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, the game is never over.
Manning’s numbers (38-52 for 396 yards, 4 TD 3 INT) were a bit inflated because of the fact that the Colts had trouble running the ball without the injured Joseph Addai and because he was forced to throw almost exclusively in the fourth quarter to try to make up the 17-point deficit. Still, Manning put quite a scare into the Foxboro faithful.
In a span of just over 3 minutes, Manning put two touchdowns on the board making a 31-14 game a 31-28 contest. Then, minutes later, he had the Colts deep in Patriots territory with under a minute to play threatening to score the go-ahead touchdown.
But Sanders had other ideas. His interception with :31 seconds left was the result of a fantastic read. He initially doubled down on Colts TE Jacob Tamme with Gary Guyton when he looked at Manning’s eyes and realized that the quarterback knew that Pierre Garcon has single coverage with the corner.
Anticipating that Manning would try to exploit that match-up, Sanders broke back toward Garcon and timed his lead perfectly picking the ball off at its “high point” according to his coach Bill Belichick.
Tom Brady had a solid day going 19-25 for 186 yards and 3 TD’s. Brady did not throw an interception and did not have to throw the ball nearly as much as Manning because the Pats ground game was very effective.
BenJarvis Green-Ellis led the team with 21 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown. But he was out-shined by fellow running back Danny Woodhead whose 36-yard touchdown run put New England up 28-14 in the 3rd quarter and electrified the home crowd.
In all, the Patriots ran the ball 34 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns. When you take away Brady taking a knee twice to end the game, New England averaged 5 yards per carry on the ground.
It’s a short week of practice for the Patriots who play the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. (12:30pm – CBS)
NOTES:
-It’s a good thing New England won as the Jets continued their string of miraculous last second victories. Sunday, the squandered a 23-7 4th quarter lead but rallied in the final minute to beat the Houston Texans 30-27. The Jets sure like a team of destiny at the moment. Their trip to Foxboro on December 6th for a Monday Night Football game looms large in the AFC’s playoff picture.
-For the second straight week, Wes Welker looked like the Wes Welker of old. The Patriots receiver had 5 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD. Deion Branch led the team with 7 catches for 70 yards and his hamstring appears to be in better health than it was in the previous few weeks.
-Rookie Devin McCourty picked up his third interception of the season Sunday and continues his solid play in the secondary. Many so-called “experts” criticized New England’s selection of McCourty in the first round of the draft labeling him nothing more than a solid special teams contributor. He has certainly shown that he is capable of much more than that.
-Had the Patriots lost this game, many would have blamed the defense for surrendering a 17-point 4th quarter lead. For me, however, the blame would have gone to the Pats offense. Their inability to move the ball and chew up some time off the clock in the 4th quarter was disappointing to say the least. When the Colts cut the lead to 31-20, the Pats proceeded to go 3 and out. Then, when Indy made it 31-28, the Pats went 4 and out. We should expect this young defense to struggle at times against great quarterbacks like Peyton Manning. However, the lack of offensive execution with the game on the line was unacceptable.
-A pair of former Patriots made news last night in Philadelphia. Eagles cornerback Assante Samuel intercepted an Eli Manning pass and forced a fumble. His teammate Ellis Hobbs took a helmet-to-helmet hit while returning the kickoff to open the second half and was knocked out. The was Hobbs’ helmet and neck was compressed on the hit made for some scary moments while he was down on the field. Fortunately, he waved to the Philly fans while being carted off on a stretcher.
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