3 positives from the New England Patriots loss to the Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots positive No. 1: The team never gave up on the game
The Patriots could have very easily withered away in this one when things weren’t going good for them. They fell behind 20-0 in the third quarter, made a seemingly infinite amount of mistakes, and showed no signs of mounting any sort of comeback. But they never gave up, and very nearly pulled off a comeback.
It’s kind of incredible to think about what it took for the Colts to come away with a win here. If the Patriots played anywhere near the level they were at during their seven game win streak, this probably isn’t even a contest. It took a ton of drops, penalties, missed assignments, poor coaching decisions, and just about every other mistake you can think of for Indianapolis to win this game. And they very nearly threw the game away despite all this.
What if Jake Bailey doesn’t get his punt blocked in the first quarter? What is Brandon King doesn’t jump offsides on Michael Badgley’s missed field goal attempt? What if Jones doesn’t get intercepted by Leonard in the red zone? What if Jonnu Smith and Michael Onwenu don’t commit a pair false starts in the red zone that killed two separate drives? The list can go on and on.
And even with that list being huge and only continuing to grow throughout the game, the Patriots never backed down. Everything was going against them, and they still managed to keep things close deep into the game. A lesser team would not have been up to the challenge, and while New England ultimately fell short, we can take solace in the fact that they aren’t going to be out of any game the rest of the way out, regardless of the situation they find themselves in.
Next. Despite the tough loss, Pats don't need to panic. dark
A few months back, I wrote about how the time for moral victories was over for the Patriots. While that still stands, we are going to make a one game exception to that rule. New England may not have won, but they proved they are never going to give up, no matter how large their deficit is, and for a team that is gearing up for the playoffs, that trait should suit them well. If they end up losing their upcoming game against the Bills though…