1. The Colts’ defense powered a win for the second straight week.
The Colts are one of three teams this season – joining the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles – to win consecutive games despite being out-gained by at least 75 yards in each victory. The Carolina Panthers last week out-gained the Colts, 275-198; on Sunday in Frankfurt, the New England Patriots out-gained the Colts, 340-264.
Also: The Colts, in stifling the Patriots’ to just six points, became the sixth team in the NFL to allow 13 or fewer points in two consecutive wins this season, joining the Raiders, Chargers, Bills, Chiefs and Cowboys.
Just as was the case in Charlotte last weekend, the Colts’ defense clamped down in key situations and then late in the game.
The Patriots had four possessions reach the end zone and managed just six points off them. Kicker Chad Ryland missed a field goal after Adetomiwa Adebawore and Dayo Odeyingbo forced a Mac Jones incompletion on third and three at the Colts’ 17-yard line midway through the third quarter; late in the fourth quarter, safety Julian Blackmon jumped in front of a Jones pass near the end zone for a game-shifting interception.
“We can’t let them in the end zone – if they don’t score, they can’t win,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “Just building up the mentality because we have been in the past not good in the red zone, and they’re a top three team in the red zone. That was one of the big emphases this week, and the guys came up big.”
Also, as was the case against Carolina, early pressure on Jones paid dividends as the game went on. Odeyingbo sacked Jones three times in the first half, and defensive ends Tyquan Lewis and Kwity Paye added first half sacks.
Fast-forward to the fourth quarter, and on the Blackmon interception, defensive end Samson Ebukam knifed inside and flashed into Jones’ peripheral vision as he went to loft a throw toward tight end Hunter Henry. Had Jones led…
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