Patriots’ Lessons-Learned from Week Fifteen Loss to the Colts
In this story:
The New England Patriots dropped to 9-5 on the 2021 season after their loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night.
New England was unable to overcome an early 20-0 deficit to the Colts. Quarterback Mac Jones completed 26 of 45 passes, throwing for 299 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor ran for 170 yards and scored on a 67-yard fourth-quarter run with 2:01 left to help the Indianapolis Colts secure a 27-17 victory over the Patriots on Saturday night.
Despite the loss, the Patriots remain in good position to continue vying for both the AFC East title, as well as a top spot in the AFC overall.
Though the spirits in New England’s locker room are not as high as they have been recently, there are still plenty of lessons to be learned from the Pats’ performance on Saturday against Indianapolis.
Lesson One: Colts made good on their game plan, but penalties sunk the Pats in Week Fifteen
Smart, complementary football on both sides, capitalizing on miscues and exemplary coaching led the Patriots to a seven-game winning streak, which catapulted the Pats back to the top of both their Division and the Conference. On Saturday, the Colts used that same strategy against them. Indianapolis ran the ball efficiently, took advantage of New England’s commission of costly penalties and turnovers, and at times, outcoached their opponents.
However, the Colts’ key to victory was fulfilling their intention to stop the Pats’ running game, and make Mac Jones beat them. The Colts held New England to 81 rushing yards, limiting rookie Rhamondre Stevenson to 10 carries for 36 yards. Conversely, Jones seemed to struggle at times with the weight of the game on his shoulders; throwing two ugly interceptions. Still, Jones showed a lot of poise, despite his occasional woes. The 23-year-old finished the night 26 for 45 for 299 yards with the two touchdown passes in the second half. It would just be a bit too late for the Pats to pull off the comeback.
Still, the Patriots were ultimately doomed more by their own hand than that of their Week Fifteen opponents. Frankly, committing eight penalties placed New England in an un-winnable position. A costly false start on Michael Onwenu on third-and-goal from the Indianapolis two-yard line forced the Pats to settle for a field goal (more on that in a moment.) Receiver Jakobi Meyers was called for a holding penalty, which erased a 20-plus yard run by Jonnu Smith. Lastly, core special teamer Brandon King was whistled for an offside, on what would have been a missed 46-yard field goal attempt by Colts’ kicker Michael Badgley. His second attempt from 41 yards would give Indianapolis three free points. In short, these penalties continuously, and fatally, derailed New England’s comeback attempts.
Lesson Two: Fourth-down strategy proves costly, but was quintessentially Belichickian
With nine minutes remaining in the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made a decision that will continue to be second guessed for days; and possibly longer if the Pats do not experience playoff success. Belichick opted for a 25-yard Nick Folk field goal while trailing 20-7 with 8:57 remaining. They did so facing fourth down on the Indianapolis seven-yard line. While many will point to this decision as the conservatism of the Pats’ head coach getting the best of him, taking the points has been the Belichickian strategy of choice for the majority of 2021.
Through fourteen games in 2021, Belichick has been hesitant to put the fate of the game in the hands of his rookie quarterback. While some will take delight in pushing the narrative that these decisions infer a lack of trust in his quarterback, Belichick’s actions are more so taken as a result of his confidence in New England’s defense to create additional possessions. Had the Patriots failed to convert on fourth-down, they would have continued to trail by 13 as time continued to drain from the clock. Instead, the Pats opted to cut the lead to ten, and take the certain points on the leg of their reliable kicker. It was a strategy that nearly worked. On their ensuing scoring drive, the Patriots cut Indianapolis’ lead to three, with a seven-play, 82-yard drive, resulting in a seven-yard touchdown strike from Jones to Hunter Henry, cutting the Colts’ lead to three. However, this time, the Patriots defense would yield a 67-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor to secure the victory for Indianapolis.
While second-guessing Belichick’s decision is fair, considering the outcome, the narrative might look slightly different if the Patriots had forced a punt late in the fourth quarter.
