What a Turnaround: Pats are the Best Team in the AFC & Maybe the NFL After Pounding Colts 42-20 on Sunday Night Football

Jonas Gray. Who knows where he'll be in a few years but for one night at least, he was the talk of the NFL after an insane performance on Sunday Night Football. In only his fourth career game, he had 38 carries for 199 yards and four touchdowns (setting a new team record) as New England (8-2 overall, 3-2 road) absolutely destroyed Indianapolis (6-4 overall, 3-2 home) 42-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots' sixth win in a row put them firmly in control of the AFC (and two games ahead of the Dolphins in the AFC East) after the Broncos surprisingly fell in St. Louis 22-7 earlier today.

There are many ways to view this victory but for my (lack of) money, the real story for New England is that they can now win on the road against a good (but not great) team even when Tom Brady (19 of 30 for 257 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) is average at best. The Patriots' defense won't put up incredible numbers but the bottom line is that they are getting the job done. Andrew Luck (23 of 39 for 303 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) does everything for the Colts so when he's off, like he was tonight, they are going nowhere fast. Did I mention that Indy's defense is an utter disaster?

The first half was misleading in the sense that the Patriots dominated but yet they were only up by four points (14-10). On their opening drive (11 plays, 89 yards, 4:14), Gray finished it with a 4-yard touchdown run. Indianapolis put together a good drive but they got stopped in the red zone and had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by the incomparable Adam Vinatieri.

Both of Brady's ugly interceptions came in the first half but the Patriots still managed to go up 14-3 late in the second quarter on Gray's 2-yard touchdown run. The second pick (both by Mike Adams) happened when Brady apparently audibled on a 3rd and 1 play and was forced to throw the ball up for grabs Eli Manning-style. The Colts took advantage to cash in a 10-yard touchdown catch by Hakeem Nicks (remember him?) to cut it to 14-10.

New England had 501 total yards and 33 first downs so when they received the opening kickoff of the second half, they went right back to work. That goal-line machine Tim Wright caught a 2-yard touchdown from Brady after another long drive (8 plays, 80 yards, 3:50). Vinatieri rescued Indy on the next stalled drive with a 53-yard kick (that would have been good from 63) but Gray's 2-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter put the Pats up two touchdowns (28-13).

The Colts cut it to 28-20 on a clever 1-yard touchdown pass to former BC offensive lineman Anthony Costanzo. Gray answered with his last score, a 1-yard touchdown, then Rob Gronkowski (4 catches, 71 yards) took time away from his unstoppable run blocking to catch a 26-yard touchdown where he basically broke Indy's will. Seriously, what an incredible catch and run complete with the dive into the end zone through two guys. If you didn't know before, now it's official: the real Gronk is back and more dangerous than ever.

It didn't help Indianapolis when Dwayne Allen or Ahmad Bradshaw went down with injuries and never returned. Only Coby Fleener (7 catches, 144 yards) really showed up for them. Reggie Wayne (5 catches, 91 yards) got most of his yardage on a one busted coverage that resulted in a 46-yard catch while T.Y. Hilton (3 catches, 24 yards) was completely shut down by a combination of Kyle Arrington and Darrelle Revis. Speaking of Revis, he helped Devin McCourty secure an interception by tipping the ball up the air. Jamie Collins (8 tackles, 5 solo, 2 tackles for loss) and Rob Ninkovich (5 tackles, 4 solo, 1 sack) were also stellar as they helped hold the Colts to 19 rushing yards on 17 carries, haha how is that possible?

New England returns to Gillette Stadium next Sunday (1, Fox) as they host the Lions (7-3, 1st in NFC North) who lost 14-6 this afternoon at Arizona. The Patriots are 6-0 at home this season and the way things are rolling, it's hard to see Detroit winning that game because they typically are mediocre outside of Ford Field.

Tweet

Not Again: Giants Beat The Patriots In Another Super Bowl, 21-17

For the second time in four seasons, the New York Giants topped the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl.

New York quarterback Eli Manning (30 of 40, 296 yards, 1 TD) secured his legacy as he picked up his second Super Bowl MVP trophy with a 21-17 Giants victory at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ironically, the win in Super Bowl 46 gave him more rings (two) than his more overrated choke artist brother Peyton (one), who plays in Indy.

Including the regular season, New York has now beaten New England three straight times and they've scored the winning points in the last minute every instance.

Everyone knew it was a joke that the Patriots (15-4) were favored coming into tonight since the Giants (13-7) not only had their number but they were a more balanced team. The painful part for Pats fans is that despite a shaky defense, not much of a running game and a lack of receivers, this was one they truly let slip away.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (27 of 41, 276 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the offense were up 17-15 and driving for another score late in the fourth quarter-a touchdown would have ended it-but Wes Welker (7 catches, 60 yards) dropped a pass that he makes 49 times out of 50. That mistake didn't cost New England the game but when you couple it with Giants receiver Mario Manningham's (5 catches, 73 yards) absurd 38-yard grab on the ensuing drive, they were two of the most pivotal plays in such a tight game.

New York seemed to make a mistake as Ahmad Bradshaw (17 carries, 72 yards) fell into the end zone with 57 seconds left, rather than drop at the one and kill the clock before a chip shot field goal. That ended up being a moot point since with less than a minute, one timeout and no deep threats, Brady couldn't get it done. He converted on 4th-and-16 to Deion Branch (3 catches, 45 yards) for a 19-yard gain but it ended with a hail mary into the end zone that was inches away from Rob Gronkowski's (2 catches, 26 yards) hands.

Speaking of Gronk, without him New England's options in the passing game were limited. Aaron Hernandez (8 catches, 67 yards, TD) played well but he also made a key drop, on the last-minute drive. Danny Woodhead (4 catches, 42 yards, TD) was effective but as expected, Chad Johnson (1 catch, 21 yards) had minimal impact. With Gronkowski clearly hobbled, the Patriots couldn't match the weapons of New York.

Hakeem Nicks (10 catches, 109 yards) was the best skill position player in the game while the Patriots contained Victor Cruz (4 catches, 25 yards, TD) but he did catch a touchdown.

New York owned time of possession-37:05-22:55 thanks to more balance (40 passing attempts, 28 rushing attempts vs. 41 passing attempts, 19 rushing attempts for the Patriots). It also helped that they fumbled three times (!) but recovered two and the other was nullified by too many men on the field for New England. Add in a bad interception by Brady and you start to understand why New York won it; they made virtually all the big plays.

New England spotted New York a quick 9-0 lead as Brady was flagged for intentional grounding out of his own end zone on the Patriots' first play. The Giants drove 78 yards on the ensuing punt and Cruz capped it off with a 2-yard catch.

The Patriots finally got on the board early in the second quarter as Stephen Gostkowski cut it to 9-3 with a 29-yard field goal.

Somehow despite sleeping through the first quarter and not converting in the red zone until the end of the second quarter, the Patriots entered halftime with a 10-9 lead thanks to Woodhead's 4-yard touchdown catch with eight seconds left. It was a stunning turnaround for a team that should have been behind by more but was still in it thanks to their defense.

Since they deferred as always to start the game, the Pats got the ball to begin the second half and looked like a different team after the 30-minute halftime. Hernandez made a 12-yard touchdown catch after breaking a tackle and New England was up 17-9 with 11:20 left in the third.

Who would have thought that would be the final points for the Patriots? Once again, the defense kept them in it as they held the Giants to a pair of field goals (38-yard and 33-yard) and New England led 17-15 heading into the fourth.

Brady forced a deep ball to Gronkowski on the second play of the fourth and it was picked off by Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn. If I'm making excuses, it's easy to say a healthy Gronk at least knocks that down but like in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens, an objective Pats fan has to ask, why did Brady put it up for grabs like that?

It didn't end up costing New England since their defense had one last stop in them before Welker's drop and Manningham's catch (challenged unsuccessfully by Bill Belichick) totally swung the momentum of the game.

The Patriots have the core to make another run at a Super Bowl next season and for the near future as long as Brady and Belichick are still around. Jerod Mayo (11 tackles), Brandon Spikes (11 tackles), Patrick Chung (6 tackles) and Vince Wilfork (3 tackles) are the key pieces to a defense that really came together in the postseason. However, there are a few areas that the team needs to address if they want to reach the next level and not lose their third consecutive Super Bowl.

New England needs to spend money in free agency and they also need to hold onto draft picks or trade up rather than trade down as they usually do. They need wide receivers, cornerbacks, running backs and pass rushers and they needed them yesterday. This loss was certainly painful but when you look at the roster, you realize that Belichick squeezed everything that he could out of this group and they still had a great chance to steal a win. Is there anyone you would rather have with the chance to make a play than Brady and Welker?

There's no reason to lament Gronk's injury since it's football and that comes with the territory. It's damn impressive that he played the entire game but he was only a shell of himself.

The clock is ticking on Brady and Belichick but with the right moves this offseason, there is no reason why this team can't reach this point again. They just better hope that they don't have to go through the Giants since until further notice, New York owns them. There is no way to dispute that, the better team won Super Bowl 46.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Getting Set For Patriots-Giants On Sunday

There is so much to talk about as the New York Giants (5-2) visit the New England Patriots (5-2) on Sunday. These teams will always be linked due to Super Bowl 42 and it's interesting to note that this is the first time they have played since that pivotal night in Arizona (preseason games don't count).

It's not going out on a limb to say that the Pats haven't been the same since; Tom Brady got hurt the next year and they missed the playoffs in 2008 then in the last two years they've been regular season heroes but they've lost at home in their first postseason games.

More than ever, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is being questioned; not so much for his coaching ability but his terrible draft picks over the last decade. It's become apparent that he has too much power and nobody in the franchise ever so much as thinks to question anything he does.

New York appeared ready to take the next step after the unexpected Super Bowl championship but they've done nothing to dispel their reputation of being completely up and down. The Giants have missed the playoffs two out of the last three seasons.

On the injury front, New England has to be pumped that New York's best running back-Ahmad Bradshaw (broken bone in his foot)-and wide receiver-Hakeem Nicks (hamstring)-are both listed as doubtful for Sunday's contest. The Patriots defense is a train wreck but they have a much better chance of containing Brandon Jacobs, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz.

Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is listed as questionable after he possibly picked up a concussion in practice yesterday. Again, that would be a huge break (no pun intended) since he's one of the best pass rushers (I had to look up the term myself) in the NFL.

New York center David Baas is doubtful with a knee injury too. Tackle Stacy Andrews is out with a back injury while fullback Henry Hynoski is questionable with a neck injury.

For the Patriots, Wes Welker (neck), Josh Barrett (thumb), Shaun Ellis (ribs), Kevin Faulk (knee), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe), Albert Haynesworth (back), Aaron Hernandez (knee), Jerod Mayo (knee) and Sebastian Vollmer (back) are all questionable. As always, that's probably semantics and just injury report tomfoolery by Belichick. Dane Fletcher (thumb) is the only Patriot that has been declared out with his lingering injury.

In other news, Patrick Chung and Faulk were both fined $7500 for plays in the loss to Pittsburgh last Sunday. Chung grabbed Antonio Brown's facemask and pulled him down while Faulk committed a chop block.

Finally, in the neverending Ray Ventrone/practice squad transactions, I wasn't even going to bother to mention that Ventrone was released yesterday for the millionth time. However, New England resigned its 2011 seventh-round draft pick Malcolm Williams (a cornerback). Another cornerback, Josh Victorian, was dumped off the practice squad.

I'll keep you posted if any other injury news or pertinent information comes out in the next few days. Now excuse me while I go pray that New England's defense starts to show a pulse. If all these scrap heap bums don't get coached up, it looks like another one and down playoff trip is basically a certainty.

UPDATE 11/5: Ron Brace has been activated off the PUP list and he'll make his 2011 debut tomorrow for the Patriots. Maybe the 2009 second-round pick and defensive lineman from BC will make an impact after being nothing but a bust for his first two seasons in New England. He fills the spot that was vacant on the 53-man roster.

New England's Taylor Price (hamstring) was also added to the injury report today, he's questionable for tomorrow. Ironic, considering he's likely to get more snaps/targets than ever tomorrow if he plays.

Bradshaw, Nicks and Baas were both declared out today, advantage Patriots. New York activated WR Ramses Barden to take Nicks' spot for this weekend at least.

UPDATE 11/6: The Patriots inactives are Price, Faulk and Ellis.

Follow @RichSlate

Tweet