For True Satisfaction In New England, Patriots Need Dominant Effort On Defense Vs. Colts

By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)

BOSTON (CBS) -- New England is getting out of hand with its predictions for Sunday night's DeflateGate Revenge Tour climax, when the Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. It's expected to be yet another beatdown in which the Pats tell Ryan Grigson and Jim Irsay where to stick that ball pump.

Brady is expected to feast on a Colts defense that has mustered only 6 sacks on the season and allowed the fifth-most passing yards in the league. Rob Gronkowski is expected to throw safeties out of the club and plow through defenders to the end zone, several times. Dion Lewis is expected to make Chuck Pagano learn his name. Julian Edelman is expected to show T.Y. Hilton how a speedy No.1 receiver is supposed to play.

Overzealous prognosticators are talking 50, 60 points for the Patriots. But even if they do reach that round of a number, would it be enough satisfaction for Patriots Nation? Eight months of anticipation have swelled expectations for this game to absurd proportions - to the point where anything less than a 91-0 massacre would be a letdown.

This is not to say the Patriots won't win or score a ton on Sunday, because they will. And it almost angers me how believable it is that the Colts would lay down and take another whipping, at home no less. But that's what New England is expecting, and for true satisfaction it will need the defense to match Brady's dominance.

The Patriots need the front seven wreaking havoc on a much less talented Colts offensive line. They need Chandler Jones and Jabaal Sheard taking up residence in the backfield. They need Jamie Collins rocketing all over the field making tackles, stripping balls, forcing bad throws. They need Malcom Brown showing the Colts why they should have drafted him instead of another receiver. They need Devin McCourty waiting patiently down the field to pick off one of Luck's patented 10-yard overthrows.

With no Darrelle Revis this time, they need Malcolm Butler shutting down Hilton, Donte Moncrief, or whomever he draws in coverage. And they need Dont'a Hightower tying it all together, reading Luck's eyes, stuffing runs, finishing blitzes.

I say all of this to temper expectations (including my own) in New England. Yes, the Patriots are going to score, but Luck is also going to make some plays. He may be off to a poor start and may not be the next Peyton Manning, but Luck is still a very talented quarterback with plenty of weapons, and even if the rest of the team gives up, he will not.

Luck needs to sling it 50-60 times and he's going to complete some of them. It's the Colts' only chance in this game. But the Colts could play well and still get stopped by the Patriots defense; New England doesn't need any help from the opponent to beat them. Still, if you want the Colts to stay out of the end zone, you will need an utterly dominating effort on that side of the ball.

New England has gotten used to the Colts being the Patriots' whipping boy. But it's simply inconceivable that Indy would once again roll over, sit back and let the Patriots bludgeon them in their home stadium all over again. Is this team really that soft? Do they really lack that much competitive juice? Their pride is on the line in this game. They can't afford to be demoralized again. If they can't show up for this game, they'll never sniff another Super Bowl.

Ultimately the Colts don't have the personnel to slow the Patriots offense down, nor the offensive firepower to keep up with Brady. But I refuse to believe they will allow a fifth straight emasculation to happen on their field. I expect them to show up and play hard. They can't win, but they could at least put up a representative effort...Right?

If the Patriots "only" win 38-24 on Sunday, think about how ridiculous we will all sound on Monday. It would be lamented as anticlimactic. A disappointment. A failure, even. Winning alone isn't enough, the Colts need to be humiliated. It's part of what makes every other region in the country hate Patriots Nation with such venom.

But let's be real: these 63-7, 84-10, 126-2 score predictions are getting further and further away from planet Earth.

This is not to say Sunday is a "trap game" for the Patriots, nor that the Colts have a chance to win. They do not. But the Patriots are also probably not going to win by 80 points. Yet if that's what New England needs to be satisfied, it will have to hope that the Patriots defense stymies Luck once again.

At some point, the Colts need to compete in one of these games. If they truly believe they are Super Bowl contender, they at least need to show the Patriots that they are a worthy competitor. That they have any shred of mental toughness. And Sunday could be their final chance to do it.

The Colts couldn't possibly lay down like dogs to the Patriots for a fifth straight game, could they? As a Patriots fan I admittedly hope they do, but this time I expect them to show up for a change.

But if you really want that savage beatdown you are expecting, you'll have to hope that history repeats itself once again.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com and expects Brady to put up huge fantasy numbers. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.