Indianapolis Colts sneak past the New England Patriots for a narrow win

The Indianapolis Colts offense did reasonably well during the first half of their game against the New England Patriots, but ended trailing by two as the defense put up basically no resistance to the Patriots offense. They needed to turn things around in the second half, both to break the Gillette Stadium curse, and to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor focused on running on their first drive, and on the first play he looked to throw, the pocket collapsed, and he was forced to run it in himself for a first down in Patriots territory. The next play was a pass to Alec Pierce, who was questionable to play up until right before the game when he was declared active, for another first down. From there, Taylor continued running on back-to-back plays, breaking tackles and getting into the red zone. On 3rd and 6, Richardson tried to get it to Adonai Mitchell, who was under heavy coverage from Marcus Jones, and the Colts sent Matt Gay out for a field goal and a one-point lead.

Drake Maye had a good first half, and the defense needed to shut him down this time around. They managed to stuff the run on first down, and a completion from Maye on second down was still one yard short of a first down, but the defense let them run right by for six yards. The next two plays went nowhere, with the Patriots facing 3rd and 6, and the Colts defense needing to make a stand here more than ever. Unfortunately, Maye easily threw for a first down, and when it came down to third down again, Maye was able to run it in again, with little opposition from the defense. This time, however, Maye was short by just inches, a ruling which New England successfully challenged, giving them the first down.

However, Maye's pass to Hunter Henry was deflected by Zaire Franklin, bounced off of Henry's body, and into Julian Blackmon's arms for an interception.

Richardson had time for one pass before the end of the third quarter, which was a little high, but Mo Alie-Cox was able to catch it. On 3rd and 2, Richardson got a pass to Drew Ogletree, but referees wiped that completion away with a pass interference call againt Michael Pittman, Jr., making it 3rd and 12. Under pressure, Richardson began to run, but tried a deep pass to Kylen Granson, which was overthrown and put an end to that drive.

The defense seemed to have finally found their spark, forcing a fumble, but it was recovered by the Patriots. Maye then threw a dime to get into the Indianapolis 25, and then was able to escape a potential sack on the next play. In the red zone, Maye had a touchdown pass, but there were already flags thrown - which again, was an offensive penalty, something the Patriots struggled with all day. They made up for it on the very next play, though, with a run from Antonio Gibson into the end zone for a touchdown. Maye followed that up with another pass for a two-point conversion, giving the Patriots a seven point lead.

With eight points left in the game, the offense was going to need to have a long drive ending in a touchdown. Instead, Richardson threw an interception in a pass intended for Alec Pierce.

The Patriots took over at their own 48 yard line, and the defense - which has been incredibly underwhelming so far this game - would need to make a quick stand and get their offense back on the field. Thankfully, they did so, after a sack from Nick Cross forced the Patriots to punt for the first time in the game.

Richardson started off with a pass to Pittman for nine yards, followed by a run for the first down by Taylor. Another pass call was made, with Richardson trying to make a deep pass to Pierce again while under pressure, with one incompletion after another. On third down, he had a completion to Will Mallory, but it was still short, and the Colts were at 4th and 3, and three minutes to go. Shane Steichen elected to keep the offense on the field, and Richardson was able to connect with Alie-Cox for a first down.

Another deep pass to Pierce was attempted, and again missed due to heavy coverage from the Patriots defense. Richardson managed to follow it up with an eight-yard pass to Pittman, and at 3rd and 2, he threw a pass to Adonai Mitchell that went right into his hands... and in a painful encore of last week, popped right back out. Once again, Steichen opted to to go for it on 4th and 2, and Richardson was able to run it in for the first down.

Granson again was the intended target for another pass from Richardson, and though it was right on target, Granson quite literally let it slip through his arms. Taylor got just one yard on the next play, and the Colts got a reprieve after a missed pass from Pittman was called pass interference.

Back-to-back run plays from Taylor got the Colts the first down, and with less than :30 to go, the Colts had 1st and goal, and needed a two-point conversion in order to win the game. Richardson ran the next two plays, getting six yards on the first and then got stuffed on the next run. The ball got passed off to Taylor, who went nowhere, and the Colts were not at 4th and goal.

In a stunner, Richardson was able to connect with Pierce in the end zone, and then decided to go for the two-point conversion rather than a field goal... and Richardson ran it in, for a 24-23 win.

With :08 left to go, the Patriots tried to mount a desperate attempt to get to field goal range, and Slye was sent out to attempt a 68-yard field goal, which ended up short, clinching the win for Indianapolis. For the first time since 2006, the Colts won at Gillette Stadium.

The Gillette curse was finally broken.

Because the Colts won, so their playoff hopes are technically still alive, but this did not look like a playoff-caliber team today. Indianapolis has been battered by injuries and it showed today. Hopefully, having a bye next week will give the Colts much-needed time to rest and recover, and return recharged for their Week 15 match against the Denver Broncos.