Linebacker Jamie Collins picked a good night to have the best game of any Patriots LB this year. He was all over the field, ending up with 6 tackles (2 for a loss), 3 QB hits, his first NFL sack (for 8 yards), and his first NFL interception. As a second-round pick this year, I wrote that Collins was brought in to help in pass coverage in the short-to-medium zones. He's worked all year to get to this point, and it paid off yesterday -- he was everywhere, and if the Patriots gave game balls, he'd get one.
Dont'a Hightower played extremely well, too. And he has been on the rise lately, with better pass coverage, despite a big miscue in the loss at Miami a few weeks back. Yesterday, he led the team with 8 tackles, and also notched his first NFL interception! He was a beast against the run, and made a few subtle adjustments just pre-snap that worked out perfectly.
In the secondary, the star of the game was cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. He defended four passes and had two interceptions, including one on QB Andrew Luck's second pass of the game. He was physical with the receiver on that one, and cut inside to take a pass that should never have been thrown by Luck. And that set the tone for the day; the Pats were physical with all the receivers, disrupting the timing of their routes, and it paid off with four total INTs.
Corners Aqib Talib and Kyle Arrington played okay but struggled some. Talib shadowed Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton, and that was a bad physical matchup. Hilton is more of a small, shifty, speed receiver, and Talib does better against larger, more physical receivers. Arrington got matched up on larger receivers too often, and it might have been better to switch the two defenders' roles. Still in all, they weren't bad; just not as dominant as Dennard.
The biggest problem in the game was the play of the safeties. The Colts did a good job exposing both Steve Gregory and Devin McCourty, sometimes completing long passes after sucking them in with play-action, sometimes getting matchups where one or both were covering speed receivers one-on-one. Luck's two touchdowns were long passes that attacked these two, and they have to up their game against either QB next week or it'll be a shootout from the get-go.
The defensive line held its own, and got decent pressure when they rushed at least four. When they rushed only three, they gave up big plays in the passing game. Chandler and Chris Jones did the lion's share of the good work in the game. Chandler got good pressure around the edge, although he lost contain on a few Luck scrambles. And Chris was the star inside, taking on multiple blockers to keep the linebackers free to make tackles.
On offense, the rest of the country learned what we've known for weeks: LeGarrette Blount is one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL. He followed up his breakout game in the season finale with a 24 carry, 166 yard (6.9 ypc), 4 touchdown game (one of which was a 73-yard back-breaker), with no fumbles, decent blocking on passes, and a relentless drive that gave him just one tackle for a loss all game.
Blount's counterpart, Stevan Ridley got 52 yards, and two touchdowns. And one of the touchdowns (as well as the ensuing two-point conversion) was a will-against-will run where he just wouldn't be denied. One quick thought for next week: teams seem to have figured out the inside handoff to fullback James Develin on third- or fourth-and-short. But on the play he got stuffed, Ridley would have had clear sailing, maybe even for a long touchdown, as the entire Colts team collapsed on Develin. Might want to fake the inside handoff and pitch it to Ridley next week -- he could run you all the way into the Super Bowl on a play like that!
The offensive line did a great job in run blocking. Logan Mankins was a beast, with Dan Connolly a close second. Both were perfect in pulling to the other side, and both had multiple plays were they got blocks at two levels, springing Blount times for 7+ yards gains. The Colts threw extra defenders at the run, but it barely slowed down the Pats running game, which is testament to the offensive line. Also, Nate Solder had been battling concussions, but he played the entire game, and did a mostly very good job in both run and pass blocking.
Which brings us to quarterback Tom Brady, who was stealthily very effective. With the running game a-blazing, Brady used play-action to perfection, and hit the long passes by throwing them a bit short to make sure he got the completion instead of a long overthrow. (In contrast, Luck seemed to throw like he was in a dome, but the wind would knock it down, or push it out of bounds.) Brady's stat line is pedestrian by his standards: 13 of 25 (52%), 198 yards, 2 sacks for 13 yards, 0 touchdowns, and most importantly, 0 interceptions. However, he was in command of the situation at all turns, even audibling to inside runs when Indy went with extra defensive backs.
As for Brady's targets, it was receiver Julian Edelman's show for the most part. He had 6 catches for 84 yards, and made some great catches through tiny, tiny windows. And on a Brady scramble, he got open and then ran over two defenders for a big first down. Danny Amendola had 77 yards on just 3 catches, and those big plays were huge; but it was Edelman who kept the chains moving when they needed first downs.
On special teams there was very good and very, very bad. A bad snap went over punter Ryan Allen's head, and when he tried to recover and run with it, he suffered a shoulder injury as the ball got knocked out of the end zone for a safety. (Trivia question: the Patriots have surrendered four safeties in the playoffs -- including yesterday -- name as many of those other years/opponents as you can... answer below.) The good was kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who's kickoffs were nearly never returned, and who averaged 41.8 yards a punt when subbing for the injured Ryan.
The coaching was nearly perfect. Running against a soft Colts defense was the right strategy, and they stuck with it even when the game got tight in the third quarter. The defensive attack, to hit the Colts receivers and disrupt their timing, all the while containing Luck in the pocket, it worked out perfectly. The only quibbles are putting the taller, rangier Talib on a quick, shifty receiver, and the botched time-management at the end of the first half (which didn't end up costing them). Other than that, a masterful game plan that netted four turnovers. Nice job by both coordinators, Josh McDaniels on offense and Matt Patricia on defense.
After the game, Luck said they couldn't get any offensive rhythm. And a look at the drive chart show you why; they only scored on two consecutive drives once in the entire game. Every other time they scored, the Patriots defense came up with a big stop, and the up-and-down nature of that obviously cost the Colts any chance to build momentum.
So where does that leave us? Awaiting the result of today's game, to see who they will play for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Not a bad spot, especially given the number of key injuries they suffered this year. Neither of the teams will be easy to beat. Denver in Denver would be a shootout, but even if the Chargers came here, QB Phillip Rivers has lots of experience playing here and a very good running game.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: The Patriots six rushing touchdowns are the first time that's happened in the playoffs since San Francisco did it 21 years ago (credit to ESPN for this one).
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "The reason I want the Chargers next week is that warm-weather and dome teams can't win here in the playoffs. They're 0-11 so far, I'd say that is a trend."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 13-4 & 1-0!
PPS. Trivia answer:
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1. Patriots vs. Giants, Super Bowl XLVI, 2/5/2012 (Brady grounding in the end zone).
2. Patriots vs. Broncos, Divisional Round, 1/4/1987 (Eason sacked in the end zone).
3. Patriots vs. Bears, Super Bowl XX, 1/26/1986 (Grogan sacked in the end zone).
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