7 winners and losers from the Patriots’ 25-24 loss to the Colts.
Here is who caught our eye, for better or worse, in the Patriots’ loss on Sunday.
The New England Patriots dropped their Week 13 contest 25-24 to the Indianapolis Colts to fall to 3-10 on the year.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
Winners
QB Drake Maye: It was another good day for rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who largely picked up Indianapolis’ zone defense. Maye was sharp targeting out-breaking routes and again attacking underneath completing 80 percent of his passes with a +10.4 completion percentage over expected rate.
The few times the Colts played man, he shredded those looks as well — most notably with a 41-yard scramble with the defense’s back turned to the QB and on Hooper’s 16-yard touchdown which was perfectly placed pass over linebacker Zaire Franklin.
Maye did have an unlucky interception to Henry that he shared could have been place on the tight end’s opposite shoulder, but the rookie continued to overcome mistakes from his supporting cast to give his team a chance to win.
CBs Christian Gonzalez and Alex Austin: It was also another day in the office for New England’s top cornerback, who’s name should firmly be at the top of any Pro Bowl or All-Pro ballot. Gonzalez primarily spent his day over Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce and allowed just two catches (four targets) for 14 yards.
Gonzalez then had a fourth-quarter interception that gave the offense a chance to ice the game, where he trusted his instincts to undercut a route — that he recognized from Indy running it earlier in the game — in man coverage. He also made an instinctual play on Christian Elliss’ interception to knock down the receiver after the tipped pass.
With the Colts size at wide receiver, Alex Austin and Zay Bolden got increased opportunity at the cornerback spot. Despite a DPI call that he questioned, Austin made his day count with a pair of impressive pass breakups.
RB Antonio Gibson: Good things continued to happen when Antonio Gibson touched the football. New England’s second back totaled 62 yards on the ground over seven carries, good for 8.9 yards per attempt behind four rushes of 10-plus yards. Gibson also took a handoff from the 11-yard line into the end zone after breaking through contact.
Losers
K Joey Slye: We are not putting the 68-yard miss — which Slye absolutely crushed in the cold — on Slye, who also deserves credit for making his first three kicks of the game. But, the veteran missed a 25-yard chip shot near the end of the half due to what he described as a miscommunication error in the operation. In a one-point loss, that miss proved costly.
Run defense: As Davon Godchaux noted, the 3.8 YPC allowed to Jonathan Taylor looks like a good day for New England’s run defense. But, Taylor’s 96 total yards was enough to keep Indy ahead of the chains throughout the day which allowed Anthony Richardson’s legs to take over. Facing their first designed QB run game this season, Richardson had 48 yards on nine attempts with three runs over 10 yards plus the game winning two-point conversion.
End-of-half management: An area the Patriots’ coaching staff struggled with throughout the year proved costly yet again on Sunday.
To conclude the first half, New England had all three timeouts before Maye hit Boutte for a 29-yard completion with 41 seconds left — triggering their first timeout at the Indy 11-yard line. They then used both of their remaining two timeouts after back-to-back runs which totaled just six yards, and Maye was then sacked (with an offensive holding) on third-down. Slye then missed the aforementioned field goal to conclude a brutal sequence.
After a run-run-pass three-and-out gave the Colts the ball back at the end of the game, Jerod Mayo sat on his three timeouts as Richardson led a 19-play game-winning drive. Maye then got the ball back with only 12 seconds left leading to Slye’s 68-yard field goal coming up just short.
“Absolutely, there was a thought,” Mayo said post game when asked about using his timeouts. “We have also won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way. Keeping our time-outs is what I thought was best for the team.”
Honorable mentions
In addition to Gibson, Rhamondre Stevenson totaled 94 total yards including 4.1 yards per carry on the ground.
Hunter Henry led the team in receiving again (7/75), but took the blame for Maye’s interception as a play he should have made. Fellow tight end Austin Hooper continues to be a reliable TE2 with a 4/42/1 line.
A very Ja’Lynn Polk-esque stat line for Ja’Lynn Polk: 20 snaps, 1 target, 0 catches.
New England’s offensive line allowed a season-low pressure rate as the backs totaled 141 yards behind them. But, penalties were an issue again as the group was flagged seven times — one hold on Mike Onwenu negating a touchdown.
Jabrill Peppers played the entire game in his return from the Commissioner’s Exempt List. He led the team in tackles and had a run stuff.
Despite Indy’s size at receiver, Marcus Jones still fought to record a pair of pass breakups. He also averaged 15.5 yards over two punt returns.
