Brady, Patriots take advantage of botched punt to beat Indy

Notes: Belichick provided no updates on New England’s injured players.

Brady was characteristically effective, going 23-37, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdown passes.

The Colts had a chance with under two minutes left, but failed to recover an onside kick and the Pats ran down the clock.

“I saw the formation, and I wasn’t sure what was going on”, New England defensive lineman Chandler Jones said. A better game from Luck and the Colts could have pulled off the upset.

THE HEAD COACH’S QUOTE: “The punt play, I take responsibility”, Colts Coach Chuck Pagano said. While the play made no sense, it wasn’t the game changing play a few made it out to be. “Alignment-wise, we weren’t lined up correctly, and then a communication problem on the snap”.

Brady has had a chip on his shoulder ever since his Deflategate suspension was overturned in the pre-season and he continued playing like it during the Patriots’ latest win, a 34-27 victory to push their flawless start to 5-0. Hilton and Donte Moncrief each had six receptions for Indy. The pass was bobbled by Julian Edelman, who suffered a finger injury a few plays earlier.

For a half, the teams traded jabs. Safety Dwight Lowery and linebacker Jonathan Newsome each recorded a quarterback sack against Brady. Adams walked into the end zone for a 14-yard, pick-six that put the Colts ahead, 14-10, with 11:30 remaining in the second quarter.

Even with the general malaise of the AFC South, starting the year 3-7 or 4-6 would be worrisome for the Colts.

New England quarterback Tom Brady led his team right back to a tie.

Edelman made another significant contribution on the following drive when he took a quick hand-off on a fourth-and-1, creatively spun away from two defenders in the backfield and gained 2 yards up the middle. The Patriots have already had their bye, and play the Jets on Sunday. Heyward said he’ll continue to pay the fine, adding “this is bigger than all we play for”. It was the first interception thrown by Brady this season.

The Patriots’ 17-14 lead didn’t last long.

Instead of the blowout that most people expected, the first half turned into a duel between Luck and Brady, who combined for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the half. On the TD, Luck moved around in the pocket to avoid a heavy rush, creating just enough time to locate Hilton. Frank Gore ran 13 times for 78 yards….

But nothing mattered more than two plays that occurred near the end of the third quarter, when Luck and then his coaches went all Gordon Gekko on this game, and the Patriots tightened their grip on what became a 34-27 victory. The Patriots responded by taking a 10-7 lead thanks to a 40-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski early in the second quarter.

Gronkowski wasn’t finished. On the final onside kick of the night, he fielded Pat McAfee’s high-bouncing kick at the Indy 44, capping off the win. Two plays later, Gronkowski caught a 25-yard pass from Brady for a touchdown. With most of Indianapolis’ players shifted up near the right sideline, receiver Griff Whalen inexplicably snapped the ball to safety Colt Anderson, who was immediately tackled for a 1-yard loss. The other nine Colts lined up near the right sideline.

The postgame discussion focused on one central them: What were the Colts thinking? The Colts were flagged for an illegal formation, but New England quickly declined the penalty.

Six plays later, Brady threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to running back LeGarrette Blount (16 carries, 95 yards) with 12:48 left in the fourth quarter.