Visiting their rival Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium, the New England Patriots fell just short last night, losing to the Colts 35 to 34. The highly anticipated game lived up to the hype, and although the Patriots were dominant, unfortunate decisions and failed opportunities gave the Colts the victory.
Tom Brady put up good numbers in the game, topping Peyton Manning, to connect on 29 of 42 attempts for 375 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Patriots were down just twice in the game, after Indianapolis' opening score and their final touchdown late in the game.
New England was up 24 to 14 at halftime, increasing the lead to 31 to 14 early in the fourth quarter. Their lead slowly dwindled as the game wound down with the Colts scoring three times for the win.
With 2:33 left in the game, New England called their second timeout on what Brady called bad communication. Moving the ball eight yards, they used their final timeout just before the two-minute warning to ponder a fourth-and-two situation. Head coach Bill Belichick decided to go for it, and Brady's short pass to Kevin Faulk nearly connected for the first down, but Faulk bobbled the ball and was tackled short. While the Patriots could have challenged the ruling, they were out of timeouts and forced to hand the ball to the Colts at the New England 28-yard line.
Using 1:47 of the two minutes remaining, the Colts connected for the game-winning touchdown, leaving just 13 seconds on the clock. Brady tried to move the ball within field-goal range for the win, but the clock was against him, sending the Patriots to the showers stunned of the missed opportunities and bad decisions that led to the loss.
Brady was asked about the decision to try on the fourth down during his post-game press conference, telling the crowd of reporters that it was "a chance to win the game." He went on to add that coach Belichick was being aggressive, one thing Brady loves about him.
He told the press that he had no regrets about the fourth-down decision, stating the he loves that Belichick has the confidence in the team that they could make it on that play. Brady added that the Colts made more good plays late in the game to earn the win, where as the Patriots did not.
New England comes back home to prepare for Sunday's game against the New York Jets. They face another currently undefeated opponent Thanksgiving weekend as they visit the New Orleans Saints on November 30 on Monday Night Football.
Comments
The Patriots outplayed the Colts for almost the entire game, it was theirs to lose, and, they lost (!). I support Belichick's decision and his 30 yrs. of NFL coaching experience to go for it. He was conferring with the defensive co-ordinator beforehand about it; it was a calculated risk, and that's football.(Btw he's had more success than any other coach going for it on 4th down). What bothers me is some of the NE media dumping on Belichick so quickly. Maybe this heart-breaking loss will be the catalyst for the Patriots from this point - one thing for sure, the "New Jersey" Jets are gonna pay for it this Sunday!!
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