Patriots vs. Colts – Match Summary – December 18, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor ran 170 yards and scored 67 yards with 2:01 left, helping Indianapolis Colts seal a 27-17 victory against the New England Patriots on Saturday night.

The Colts (8-6) strengthened their relegation by winning for the fifth time in six games – and cutting an eight-game losing streak to rival Patriots (9-5).

Taylor has scored 11 goals in a tube and wins the Hall of Famer in the longest series in Lenny Moore’s history.

“It was really just accepting the challenge, knowing it was going to be a dog fight, and I knew everything had to be earned,” Taylor said. “When you do that, you win half the battle.”

New England had won seven tubes and started the weekend at the top of the AFC playoffs. But the Patriots were unable to survive the 20-0 loss due to too many atypical mistakes, including saving Taylor’s game.

There was a little bit of everything in the game – drama, physical play, auctions, even a fight that led Patriots safety village Kyle Dugger and Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

But Indy overcame this by stealing a page from Bill Belichick’s playbook – using the ground to chew on the clock and closing it backwards in a minute of fading play. This was Indy’s first victory over New England since 2009.

And yet, it didn’t have to be that close.

Colts and Taylor sent an early message by starting their second series with seven consecutive games before Taylor made a direct starting pass, handed Carson to Wentz and then Wentz turned the ball to Nyheim Hines for an 8-yard goal pass and a 7-0 lead.

Matthew Adams followed that by blocking Jake Bailey’s point, EJ Speed ​​recovered in the finish line to a 14-0 lead – New England’s biggest deficit since a week 3 loss to New Orleans.

“It looks like they were just good forces at play,” Matthew Slater, star of New England special teams, said. “It’s hard when you give up games like that, it’s hard to win. We noticed the team 20 points away. Good luck in the winning attempt. There’s no excuse to play like this.”

The Colts added a 25-yard goal before halftime and at the start of the second third quarter, making it 20-0.

Rookie quarterback Mac Jones eventually got the Patriots to straighten out in the fourth quarter. He threw a 12-yard TD pass from Jones to Hunter Henry and when Nick Folkin scored a short field goal 20-10, Jones grabbed Henry’s 7-yard pass with 2:21 left.

Two games later, Taylor avoided one tackle and ran to the front corner of the goal area.

Jones was 26/45 at 299 yards, with two touchdowns and two breaks when he dropped 6-1 this season.

Wentz was 5/12 at 57 yards with one TD and one cut as the Colts rushed 226 yards with 39 moves.

INJURY REPORT

Patriots: Played without top climber Damien Harris (thigh band) and lost supporter Ja’Whaun Bentley (ankle) in the first half. The receiver Nelson Agholor left at the end of the third quarter due to a head injury. Agholor was eventually taken to the locker room.

Colts: Center Ryan Kelly left his second game in a row late after a scratch set. He was activated on the backup / COVID-19 list on Tuesday, but was recorded in an injury report due to a personal injury to the injured knee and his absence. Lineback Darius Leonard left for a moment in the first half due to a right shoulder or arm injury, and corner defender Xavier Rhodes walked off the field early in the fourth quarter.

STAT PACKAGES

Patriots: The New England NFL record in the first half of 99 consecutive games ended. .. The Patriots also failed to score 30 points against Indy for the first time in 10 games, leaving them in a draw with Kansas City, which did so nine times in a row against Denver in the 1964-68 AFL. … New England rushed 81 yards 19 times. Henry had six catches at 77 yards.

Colts: Speed ​​became the first NFL player to record two touchdowns past blocked hits in a single season after Ed Reed in 2003. … Taylor has rushed 100 yards in the last eight 11 games. … Indy added two extra sums to the league lead and now has at least one takeaway in 15 consecutive games.

NEXT

Patriots: Host Buffalo next Sunday.

Colts: In Arizona next Saturday night.

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