After their dominating performance against the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots now look ahead to their showdown with the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night.
The New England Patriots roller coaster of a season continues after a great performance this past Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots didn’t have much time to bask in victory , as they immediately had to get ready for Andrew Luck and his Indianapolis Colts (1-3).
Luck has struggled mightily when playing the Pats. He brings in a 0-5 record against the team and has only lost one game by less 20 points.
Just because he has never beat the New England Patriots does not mean he can’t. Luck gives the Colts a chance to win in any given game, and with the lackluster New England Patriots defense has a good shot of taking over the game if New England’s defenders aren’t prepared.
In summary, the Colts record may be poor, but this team is no joke.
Here are three keys to securing a Thursday night victory against Indianapolis.
Stop the receiving threats
Outside of Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts strength is their receiving core.
Pro Bowler Jack Doyle was a DNP, but still has a shot at playing. His running mate Eric Ebron has been impressive as of late.
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Ebron a former top 10 pick, couldn’t find his way with the Detroit Lions. He is an incredible athlete, but struggled immensely with route running and was amongst the league leaders in drop since entering the NFL in 2014.
Indianapolis took a low risk, high reward shot when acquiring him and it is seemingly paid off. In the Red Zone Ebron is a mismatch nightmare and it has shown. Through 4 games he already has 3 touchdowns and looks better than he did then his entire tenure in Detroit.
Patrick Chung will have his hands full, especially with such an athletic tight end like Ebron.
Elsewhere, Indianapolis has some underrated receiver talent. Wide receivers Ryan Grant and Chester Rogers look to be decent playmakers.
Last week against the Texans, Rodgers posted 8 catches for 85 yards and caught a crucial two-point conversion in the waning seconds that forced the game into overtime. He has really solid hands and his routes looked very crisp on film.
Ryan Grant is a solid slot receiver that can be an issue due to his shiftiness, He has yet to establish a relationship with Luck to this point, but is second to only injured TY Hilton in receiving yards this season. Look for Grant to get an increased workload, as well as a New England Patriots gameplan to stop it.
Take the game out of Luck’s Hands
The Indianapolis Colts have had a historically poor running game to this point in the season. Indy has a putrid 288 rushing yards as of Week 4, which is good for 29th in the NFL.
Rookie Jordan Wilkins has established himself as the lead back to less than stellar results. He has a poor 3.5 YPC and struggles to find the open hole. He has potential, but to be a starter such early his career was just a bad move for the Colts. He would be more effective in a limited role.
Fellow rookie Nyheim Hines has also struggled running the football. He has an even worse 3 YPC and hasn’t eclipsed 60 yards on the ground yet with nearly 20 carries. Hines is solid in the passing game, but his big-play ability has yet to translate on the ground.
This team is missing sophomore standout Marlon Mack who has been inactive and will miss the upcoming game with a hamstring injury. Once he gets back, this area of the Colts should get much better but thankfully, the New England Patriots do not have to deal with that.
Andrew Luck was directly involved in all but 15 percent of his teams plays last week, which shows Frank Reich does not trust his RB corps. If Luck has the ball he can be dangerous.
The Patriots need to establish an early pass rush to get Luck out of rhythm. It is well known the Colts offensive line struggles, and with their best tackle Anthony Castonzo not playing due to injury, the New England Patriots have to take advantage.
Making the Colts be forced to run the football for the wellbeing of their star QB is the best way to neutralize their offense and to win the game.
Attack the edge of the field
It is fair to say the Indianapolis Colts have a very mediocre defense, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some defensive playmakers.
Athletic rookie linebacker Darius Leonard has been the talk of the NFL as of late. He can play the middle as well as be a pass-rusher, and is a force on the field. He is a player whose name is constantly mentioned throughout the broadcast and makes a name for himself through his great play. He is the teams best playmaker by far on that side of the ball.
Fellow rookie linebacker Anthony Walker has also been great through the first quarter of the season. He is good in space and across the games, he has played has seemed to improve with time.
The New England Patriots should stay away from these playmakers and focus on the outside of the field.
The Colts have a fairly awful cornerback core. They will be without slot corner Kenny Moore as well as another solid corner in Quincy Wilson.
Pierre Desir has had a pretty solid season to this point for them, but that is about it. You won’t see a much worse group than this in the NFL.
The Patriots should rely heavily on pushing the ball downfield and exploiting the weak corners. Push the ball to the outside with James White and Sony Michel and force their corners into making plays in that phase of the game too.
If the Patriots can neutralize their two great linebackers, it should be smooth sailing for the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.