The Indianapolis Colts (5-5) went overseas and fought their way to a 10-6 victory over the New England Patriots (2-8) on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany.
After scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, the Colts offense completely crumbled, struggling to push the ball downfield. Fortunately, the Patriots offense was even worse, and the defense came through with some crucial turnovers.
It was the lowest-scoring international game for the NFL ever. But, the Colts now get to go into the bye week with an even record looking to build off two consecutive wins.
Here’s everything we know from the Week 10 win:
Final Score: Colts 10, Patriots 6
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Colts | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Patriots | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
It was over when...
Bailey Zappe threw an interception to Rodney Thomas II on the final play of the game. Trying to catch the Colts off guard, Zappe fake spiked a pass and then threw a deep shot down the middle right to Thomas.
Keys to the game
- The Colts defense was perfect in the red zone, keeping the Patriots from scoring a touchdown on any one of their four trips inside the 20.
- The pass rush was strong to start the game, which included 3.0 sacks from Dayo Odeyingbo on the first three drives. Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis also added sacks while the defense racked up nine quarterback hits
- The Colts defense got two key interceptions from Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas on the final two drives of the game.
- The offense struggled mightily in this game. They recorded just nine first downs on their eight drives after their opening-drive touchdown.
3 Stars of the game
- DE Dayo Odeyingbo: The third-year pass rusher recorded a single-game career-high 3.0 sacks while adding three tackles for loss.
- DT DeForest Buckner: The leader of the defense continues to produce, recording a team-high seven pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, while adding two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss.
- S Julian Blackmon: His strong season continues as Blackmon came through with a clutch interception late in the fourth quarter while adding another pass breakup and a tackle for loss.
Defense bails out offense again
It was not a pretty game at all on the offensive side. The passing game continues to struggle with Gardner Minshew, who is constantly seeing ghosts in the pocket. Still, the Colts defense was strong in the red zone, which ultimately was the difference in this game. That and the two turnovers at the end of the game. The pass rush was strong to begin the game, and the Patriots made some mistakes like going away from the run despite all their success between the tackles. The bend-don’t-break unit came through this week, but the Colts have to figure out how to move the ball more consistently through the air.
Injuries
- CB Julius Brents (quad) and TE Drew Ogletree (foot) were inactive due to injuries.
- DE Kwity Paye (hamstring) and DE Tyquan Lewis (calf) both suffered injuries on the opening drive. Both players returned to the game.
- C Ryan Kelly (concussion) suffered a concussion and was ruled out for the entire second half.
Quick Hits
- This was the first time since Week 2 that the Colts had the entire starting offensive line together. That lasted all of two quarters before Ryan Kelly (concussion) was ruled out.
- With 84 receiving yards, WR Michael Pittman Jr. passed Reggie Wayne (3,109) for the fourth-most receiving yards by a Colts player in their first four seasons.
- With a rushing touchdown, RB Jonathan Taylor passed Joseph Addai (34) for the second-most rushing touchdowns by a Colts player in their first four seasons.
- This was the first game the Colts won this season when committing a turnover.
- This was the first time this season the Colts failed to score 20 points in a game.
- Matt Gay’s 51-yard field goal tied Adam Vinatieri (seven in 2016) for the second-most 50+ yard field goals made in single-season franchise history.
What's next?
Colts head coach Shane Steichen will meet with the media Monday for a conference call before the team enters the bye in Week 11.
