WHAT. A. DEMOLIATION. The Patriots defense absolutely DESTROYED Sam Ellinger and the Colts as they racked up 9 sacks and shut the Colts out of the endzone in a 26-3 blowout win.
This game was an utter mauling from the moment Sam Ellinger and the Colts offense stepped onto the field.
In fact, this might have been the single worst offensive performance I’ve seen in the last five years (if not longer) as nothing head coach Frank Reich cooked up worked. Whether it was the running or passing game, the Colts offense failed to even make a dent against a good (but not spectacular) Patriots defense, which is a huge indictment against Reich and his ‘offensive genius’.
Though, if there was group that deserves the most blame for that debacle, it would have to be the offensive line. Those guys are absolute disgraces.
For being highest paid collective group in the NFL ($41M) and to give up NINE sacks in one game is not only inexcusable, but it is also a worrying sign about these guys competitive spirits. An offensive line shouldn’t be giving up nearly ten sacks with a rookie quarterback behind them unless they either are practice-squad level players or don’t care about winning football games.
Both scenarios are bad, but the second one is obviously worse. And the Colts O-Line better fits that description.
It’s not like the Colts offensive line is made up of a bunch of third-stringers as the five starters who played today already boasts of two 1st round picks (Quenten Nelson and Ryan Kelly) and one 2nd round pick (Braden Smith), with future Hall-of-Famer Quenton Nelson even playing today.
So, I think it’s perfectly fine to question the competitive integrity of these guys as they not only gave up 9 sacks, but they also allowed 12 QB hits and 8 TFL. In other words, it would have been better if the Colts had pilons blocking for Ellinger (15/29, 103 yards, 1 INT) over those guys.
Anyway, the Patriots offense wasn’t much to brag about either.
Mac Jones had another pedestrian game as he went 20/30, 157 yards, and 1 TD, with the Patriots offense as a whole only scoring one touchdown (Nick Folk and CB Jonathan Jones had the other 19 points). It’s pretty disappointing to see how Mac Jones has regressed back into the game managing quarterback Belichick used him as last season from the game-winner he was used as at the start of the season.
Losing his starting spot to Bailey Zappe has really affected his confidence and I hope he gets it back soon or else he may never develop into a star. As for the rest of the offense, Rhamondre Stevenson had an okay game with 15 CAR for 60 yards, while Hunter Henry (4 REC for 50 yards) had a huge catch to set up the Pats TD. So, not much else happened.
Clearly, this offense still needs a lot of work.
Nevertheless, the Patriots defense came up huge today. Matt Judon (6 tackles, 2 TFL, 4 QB hits) added to his league leading sack record as he racked up 3 sacks, Josh Ulche (6 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 QB hits) exploded out of his linebacker spot to also record 3 sacks on Ellinger, and Jonathan Jones (1 tackles, 1 PD) is quickly becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league as he had yet another Pick 6 that iced the game for New England.
Sure, the Patriots defense isn’t as good as it was during the days of the 1st Dynasty (2001-2004), nor is it as good as it was during the 2nd Dynasty (2014-19), but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a solid unit. They’ve dominated mediocre/poor offenses regularly, while they have only been blown out by the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s what you’d expect for a 10-15th ranked defense.
Regardless, the Patriots (5-4) win keeps them in the hunt for the AFC East title with the Bills loss to the Jets today, but it’ll be extremely difficult to overcome the Jets (6-3), Dolphins (6-3), and Bills (6-2) as all of these teams are playing light out football. I’ve honestly never seen the AFC East be so competitive in my lifetime!
As for the Colts (3-5-1), this loss all bust signifies that their season is over. They can’t compete with the Tennessee Titans (5-2) for the AFC South title race, and they definitely can’t compete against the AFC East teams or the Bengals and Chargers for the Wild Card spots. Unfortunately for Frank Reich, this season is probably going to be the end of the line for his team as the HC.
Jim Irsay is not a patient man, and he won’t tolerate another season outside the playoffs under Reich’s reign.
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