Patriots Roll Colts 45-7, Advance to Super Bowl

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Monday, January 19, 2015

Matt LaPan, GoLocal Sports Reporter

The Patriots are going back to Arizona. The New England Patriots have dominated the Indianapolis Colts in each of their previous three matchups. The Colts have been unable to stop the Patriots ground attack and New England has been on the winning side of multiple blowouts. That did not change in the AFC Championship game as the Patriots routed the Colts 45-7.

The win will send Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to their 6th Super Bowl as a coach/quarterback tandem, the best mark in NFL history. The Patriots will be taking on the Seattle Seahawks, who became the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowl’s since the 2003 and 2004 Patriots with a miraculous comeback in the NFC Championship game

Special Teams, Special Plays

Both the Patriots and Colts traded 3-&-outs to start the game, but it was the Patriots’ special teams that again made a play. Ryan Allen boomed a punt up for Josh Cribbs which was called for a fair catch. Cribbs, however, had to adjust to a moving ball and muffed the punt which fell directly into the hands of Darius Fleming to give the Patriots the ball back at the Colts 26 yard line.

Six plays later the Patriots run game struck as LeGarrette Blount plunged into the end zone from less than a yard away for the game’s first score. The touchdown was Blount’s 5th career postseason touchdown, all of which have come against the Colts and gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead.

Revis Injury

The Colts got the ball back and mounted an impressive drive, but the biggest takeaway from the drive was an injury to Darrelle Revis. Regis appeared to get kicked in the head on an Andrew Luck run and was forced to leave the field. Regis had multiple members of the medical staff checking his head and neck before he was cleared to return to the game. After the Colts drive stopped, former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri attempted a 51-yard field goal but missed wide to the left, giving the Patriots great field position.

The Patriots took just eight plays before finding the end zone. This time it was a short pass to fullback James Devlin that got New England into the end zone. The touchdown reception was the first of Devlin’s career and gave the Patriots the 14-0 lead.

Colts Get First Stop

The Colts offense continued to struggle, and were forced to punt back to the Patriots. On the punt return, it appeared that Julian Edelman was injured, and he was forced to go back to the locker room with the medical staff a few plays later. That did not slow down the Patriots, who rode LeGarrette Blount and the ground game. It was a Tom Brady mistake that ended the Patriots drive, however. Brady attempted to force a pass into Rob Gronkowski, who was double covered. The underneath coverage by D’Qwell Jackson made the big impact as he intercepted the Brady pass at the goal line.  

Colt Offense Finally Gets Moving

The Colts took advantage of the turnover, going on a 10-play, 93-yard drive to get their first score of the game. The drive included a huge 36-yard pass play from Andrew Luck to T.Y. Hilton, who made an amazing grab at the sideline. It also had two Patriots penalties that helped extend the drive — one on Vince Wilfork and one on Jamie Collins.

The drive was capped on a one-yard touchdown run by Zurlon Tipton, making the game 14-7, Patriots. The 93-yard drive was the longest allowed by the Patriots all season.

The Patriots got the ball back, looking to answer quickly before the end of the half. The Patriots used a short passing game and multiple runs to get the ball deep inside Colts territory. They ran 15 plays overall but were shut down inside the five yard line and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski. The field goal gave the Patriots a 17-7 lead going into the half, with New England receiving the ball in the 2nd Half.

Trick Play Perfection

The Patriots came out in the 2nd Half with a clear want to run the Ball. They rode LeGarrette Blount’s hard-nosed running down the field before they broke out a trick play for the second time in two weeks. This time Tom Brady found his left tackle, Nate Solder, in the flat for a 16-yard touchdown. The former tight end rumbled into the end zone before being mobbed by his teammates along the offensive line, giving the Patriots the 24-7 lead in the process.

The Patriots converted three first downs on the drive, including the touchdown pass to Solder.

The Patriots then held Luck and the Colts to a quick 3-&-out, starting the 2nd Half much like the 1st Half on defense.

Gronkowski Gets Going

Off that stop, it became Rob Gronkowski’s drive. After being held without a catch in the 1st Half, Gronkowski caught three passes on the drive — including his first touchdown of the game. Gronkowski did the work through the air while Blount did the work on the ground, driving the ball down the field and giving the Patriots the commanding 31-7 lead. 

Knockout Blow

The Colts started their drive with chances of a trip to the Super Bowl dwindling. They then got the knockout punch from the Patriots biggest offseason addition, Darrelle Revis. Regis stepped in front of an Andrew Luck pass to T.Y. Hilton and intercepted it, returning it to the 13 yard line. 

The very next play LeGarrette Blount continued his domination of the Colts with a 13 yard touchdown. It was Blount’s second touchdown of the game and gave the Patriots a commanding 38-7 lead. The Patriots took that lead into the 4th Quarter. Tom Brady finished the 3rd Quarter 9-9 passing with two touchdowns

Blount Force Trauma

LeGarrette Blount and the Patriots offense were not done. The next Patriots drive, they continued to pound the ball and got Blount his third touchdown. The touchdown was Blount’s 7th career playoff touchdown, all coming against the Colts.

The Patriots continued to baffle Andrew Luck, getting another interception against the young quarterback. This time it was Jamie Collins who stepped in front of the Luck pass for the second Patriots interception of the game.

The Patriots closed the game out by taking out Tom Brady in the middle of a drive for Jimmy Garoppolo, allowing the Gillette Stadium crowd to erupt in a “Brady” chant. The win is Brady’s 20th career playoff win, giving him more wins than 21 current franchises in the NFL. He will be looking to get his 4th Super Bowl title in his 6th try when he takes on Seattle on February 1.

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