As the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots prepare to meet on Sunday, the Pats have shown great respect for Indy’s defense.
The Indianapolis Colts haven’t had the season that many were expecting they would. The team is just 3-4-1 entering Week 9 and the offense has pretty much been a disaster. Matt Ryan has been benched for Sam Ehlinger, the run game has been nonexistent, offensive coordinator, Marcus Brady, has been fired, and Nyheim Hines has been traded. Truthfully, the only thing in Indianapolis that has met expectations this season is the defense.
Coming off a solid defensive year last season, the Colts added guys like Stephon Gilmore and Yannick Ngakoue, and so far this season, the defense has been the most consistent unit for Indianapolis. The defense has won a couple of games for Indy and has also kept some losses from getting really ugly. That’s why ahead of Sunday’s Week 9 matchup with the New England Patriots, the Pats have been showing plenty of respect for Indy’s defense.
New England’s quarterback, Mac Jones, talked about how impressed with the defense he was, saying, “one of the top defenses in the league…we have to be ready to go.” Head coach Bill Belichick took time to praise Indy’s entire time but really highlighted the “outstanding group” on defense that added even more pieces this offseason. In addition to Indy’s defense actually being good, the Pats have reason to be really respectful of the unit because it was the Colts’ defense that dominated the game last year and New England didn’t forget that.
Never gets old: Here is Bill Belichick’s mid-week opening statement on the Colts, listing off 16! players by name including the likes of special teams guys Tony Brown and Dallis Flowers. Nearly a four minute take. pic.twitter.com/NRBKDRmD5I
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) November 3, 2022
Colts’ defense hoping to dominate Patriots again
In Belichick’s extensive spill on Indianapolis, he mentioned how Indy took the ball away from the Patriots last season, helping the Colts win the game. In that game, linebackers Shaquille Leonard and Bobby Okereke each recorded impressive interceptions that impacted the outcome of the game. However, turnovers were the key to Indy’s defense last season, they’ve been getting things done differently this year.
The Colts only have eight takeaways this season and four of them are interceptions. For the most part, they’ve been excelling by playing straight-up defense. Indianapolis only allows 319.8 yards a game, ninth-best in the NFL. Indy is also limiting opponents to 19.6 points a game, that’s seventh-best in the NFL. They’ll try to keep rolling against a struggling Patriots offense.
New England doesn’t seem to have an offensive identity and there was a small quarterback controversy just a couple of weeks ago. However, Jones is the quarterback of this offense that averages just 22.1 points a game. They’ve also committed 16 turnovers this season, so although Indy hasn’t been taking the ball away, the Patriots may give it to them on Sunday.
Ultimately, this is likely where the game will be decided. The Colts’ offense hasn’t been reliable or consistent this season so if Indianapolis is going to get another win over the Patriots on Sunday, it will have to be behind a good defensive performance.
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