Colts win in Germany but leave with a lot of concerns after ugly game vs. Patriots

The Indianapolis Colts will enter their bye week with a 5-5 record. On Sunday, playing in Frankfurt, Germany, Indy was able to defeat the New England Patriots 10-6. As evident in the score, it was a pretty ugly game. Fortunately for the Colts, the Patriots are in a for more dysfunctional state right now, but Indy definitely has some concerns as well.

For starters, Indianapolis scored just 10 points. Entering the game, Indy had scored 20 or more points in every game this season, the only team to do that this year. The lone touchdown came from Jonathan Taylor on Indy’s opening drive. It was a drive where the Colts were determined to get Taylor going. He carried the ball nine times for 31 yards and a touchdown.

However, Taylor only finished the game with 23 carries for 69 yards. It got much tougher for Indianapolis to run the ball and the offense wasn’t productive at all. Gardner Minshew completed 18-of-28 for 194 yards and an interception, and the only other score for the Colts was a 51-yard field goal from Matt Gay.

Even with a win, there’s no question that Indy would have loved to be more productive heading into the bye week. The same can be said for the defense, who only gave up six points but looked very vulnerable.

Colts struggle in Week 10 win against Patriots

The defense had five sacks, two interceptions, and only gave up six points. Looking at those stats, you’d think it was a great day from the defense. In a way, it was because the unit did what was necessary to win. However, Indianapolis made it challenging.

The Patriots had 340 total yards of offense. On the ground, New England ran the ball 36 times for 167 yards, averaging 4.6 yards a carry. Quite frankly, the Patriots bullied the Colts on the ground and New England’s run game set the Pats up to score multiple touchdowns. If not for two missed throws by Mac Jones, which led to him being benched, Indy could be looking at a different outcome right now.

However, sports aren’t about ifs, they are about what actually happened. What happened is the Colts won the game and moved to 5-5. Yes, they have some things to work on and they’ll do that during the bye week. When Indy returns, the team will have an easy remaining schedule that could lead to the Colts making a run.

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