Four Ups, Four Downs from Patriots' 26-3 win over Colts
FOXBORO -- OK. So. A win is a win. And in that sense, the Patriots did all that they had to do on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Still ... to say the Patriots are a well-oiled machine heading into their bye week would be a slight overstatement.
While the New England defense was utterly dominant against Sam Ehlinger and the struggling Colts on Sunday, the offense was a bit underwhelming.
As such, there's plenty to pick from when filling out the Four Ups and Four Downs from the 26-3 victory.
Four Ups
Matthew Judon
Judon set the tone by sacking Ehlinger on the Colts' first offensive snap of the game. He actually sacked him again on third down, but that sack was wiped out by a penalty on Daniel Ekuale. No matter, as would come up with a third-down sack later in the first quarter before making another third-down sack in the third quarter.
He also came up with a tackle on a Colts' fourth-and-1 run in the fourth quarter to force a turnover on downs.
Judon now has 11.5 sacks on the season, most in the NFL. And he's one sack shy of matching last year's total, which was his career high.
Jonathan Jones
On a day when the Patriots' offense was struggling, Jonathan Jones made that a non-factor. In the middle of the second quarter, Jones crept in from the left side of the Colts' line and burst toward punter Matt Haack, blocking the punt at the Colts' 15-yard line and sending it back toward the goal line.
Rhamondre Stevenson was in the end zone two plays later, scoring the Patriots' lone offensive touchdown of the day.
Jones managed to match the offensive output himself, too, as he picked off a tipped Ehlinger pass in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown.
That was the first touchdown of Jones' career, and it capped an impressive showing from the seventh-year corner.
Nick Folk
The kicker came up huge for the Patriots. What else is new?
Nick Folk was 4-for-4 on field goals and 2-for-2 on PATs, hitting a 49-yarder to start the scoring while adding two from 43 yards and one from 28 yards. Folk -- who turned 38 years old on Saturday -- is now 19-for-21 on field goals this season and a perfect 20-for-20 on PATs.
Sunday's performance came in a defensive struggle, and on a breezy day, no less. And once again we're free to ask where the Patriots would be if not for Nick Folk.
Josh Uche
While a three-sack game from Judon is not particularly surprising, a three-sack game from Josh Uche certainly registers as such.
The third-year pass rusher had only recorded more than one sack in a game once in his career prior to Sunday, but he had three sacks against the Colts, all of which came on third down. (Ja'Whaun Bentley also had a third-down sack, as the Patriots tied a franchise record with nine sacks on the day.)
Uche had three sacks all of last year, so Sunday was a big one for him.
BONUS: Adrian Phillips and Ja'Whaun Bentley
The sacks get all the publicity, but there was some serious dirty work going on in stopping the Colts' running game. The trio of Deon Jackson, Phillip Lindsay and Jordan Wilkins rushed for a grand total of 38 yards on 15 carries, and Phillips and Bentley were thumping away to help prevent the Colts' ground game from ever getting going. (Ehlinger broke off a 19-yard run during garbage time to throw off the overall statistics.)
BONUS: J.J. Taylor
The only thing the Patriots needed to do offensively in the second half was not turn the ball over. J.J. Taylor helped ensure that the Patriots only had one turnover, as he came flying in out of nowhere to recover a sloppy Kendrick Bourne fumble midway through the fourth quarter.
Four Downs
The Offensive Line
Yodny Cajuste started at right tackle. Isaiah Wynn took over for Cole Strange at left guard for a large chunk of the game. James Ferentz continued to fill in for David Andrews at center. Mike Onwenu stayed at right guard and Trent Brown was in his spot at left tackle.
The end result was messy. The Patriots ran for just 70 yards on 28 carries, while Mac Jones was sacked four times.
Strange was also penalized for illegal hands to the face (it was declined), Brown was flagged for holding (also declined), and Wynn picked up yet another holding penalty.
The O-line has been an issue for much of the year, and it doesn't appear to be improving.
Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne
As stated earlier, the Patriots' defense was so dominant that their offense probably could've taken kneeldowns and punted every possession without giving up the lead after halftime.
Alas, on the Patriots' second play of the second half, Meyers fumbled on the New England side of the 40, setting up the Colts' only score of the game.
And in the fourth quarter, Bourne was holding the ball far away from his body after catching a pass near the line of scrimmage, coughing it up. Taylor recovered that one, but with turnovers hurting the team this year, plays like that still need to be eliminated.
Jake Bailey
Jake Bailey punted seven times on Sunday. One of them was dynamite (a 44-yarder to the 7-yard line). One was powerful (a 58-yarder to the Colts' 19-yard line). A few were so-so, one was bad (a 36-yarder to the New England 42-yard line), and one was awful (a 7-yard punt at the end of the game).
Did it matter? No, because the Colts' offense was terrible. But the highly paid punter has not been a strength for New England this year.
The Offense
It's kind of a cop-out to fill out the Downs, but the Patriots' offense just isn't inspiring. Sunday was ugly, with the team gaining just 203 yards of offense, going 6-for-17 on third down, and going 1-for-2 on red zone trips.
The offensive line -- as noted -- underperformed, but schematically, there were countless running plays that had zero chance of success. Mac Jones (20-for-30, 147 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) isn't exactly thriving, but it's still unclear which quarterback in the NFL could really succeed in this current Patriots offense.
With Matt Patricia and Joe Judge essentially replacing Josh McDaniels, the offense was the biggest question about the team all spring and summer. Despite the 5-4 record at the bye week, those questions still persist around an offense that isn't scaring too many opponents from week to week.
