FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The days of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning dueling in regular-season instant classics never felt so distant.
The latest edition of Pats-Colts was sloppy, a field goal festival marred by uninspired quarterback play and injured offensive lines. Special teams delivered the top highlight. For a time Sunday, there were more negative plays than completed forward passes.
But as they have so often in this rivalry, the Patriots pulled away. And for a team working to rejuvenate its second-year quarterback and establish an offensive identity, an ugly win would do.
