Another ugly game is in the books for the New England Patriots as they laid waste to the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet, and the Patriots defense was feasting on Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger like a smoking bird fresh out the oven. They finished the game with a ridiculous nine sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
The chef hat for the day belonged to star linebacker Matthew Judon, who is making quite the case for himself as the leading candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He finished the game with six tackles, three sacks and four quarterback hits.
And let’s not forget Jonathan Jones’ pick-six that put the final nail in the coffin.
Tipped & picked.@justjjones #ForeverNE
📺: #INDvsNE on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/EQjT1vCRt4
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 6, 2022
To be fair, the Colts offense was a train wreck coming into the game.
Ehlinger was only making his second NFL start, and the team didn’t have star running back Jonathan Taylor on the field. Throw in the fact that they just fired their offensive coordinator and there wasn’t much hope for anything more than a complete disaster.
But no one could have predicted it would look that bad. Speaking of bad, the Patriots offense continued to sputter with Mac Jones under center. The good news is he didn’t turn the ball over, but the bad news is the offense still consistently stalled out and settled for field goals against the Colts.
It didn’t help matters that the offensive line was playing musical chairs up front, and Jones was constantly under pressure with four sacks and seven hits. Not every offense the Patriots play is going to be as bad as the Colts, especially in a division with a pair of high-powered offensive teams in the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.
Regardless, New England will still be happy to take Sunday’s victory and move over .500 win percentage for the first time this season. They’ll get a much-needed break with the upcoming bye week, before returning for a much-anticipated rematch with the New York Jets in Week 11.
