The New England Patriots entered Week 15 off a seven-game losing streak, but the team was unable to keep it alive against the Indianapolis Colts. New England lost the primetime matchup on Saturday night 27-17, falling to 9-5 on the season and from the top spot in the AFC playoff picture — in large part because
Let’s now take a look at some early statistics to come out of that contest.
Patriots vs. Colts: Team statistics
Team statistics
Stat | Patriots | Bills |
---|---|---|
Stat | Patriots | Bills |
First downs | 20 | 29 |
Third down | 7-14 (50%) | 6-7 (85.7%) |
Fourth down | 4-4 (100%) | 0-0 (0%) |
Total net yards | 305 | 482 |
Net rushing yards | 89 | 174 |
Net passing yards | 216 | 308 |
Penalties | 5-34 | 3-47 |
Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
Red zone | 2-2 (100%) | 6-6 (100%) |
Goal-to-go | 2-2 (100%) | 3-3 (100%) |
Time of possession | 28:35 | 31:25 |
Statistically speaking, the game between the Patriots and Colts was a close affair with some advantages for New England. The team gained more yards, in part because it converted third downs at a higher rate, and vastly out-gained its opponent in passing yards.
In the end, however, none of that mattered because the Patriots kept shooting themselves in the foot. They turned the football over twice, had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and surrendered a 67-yard rushing touchdown to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor to ice the game late in the fourth quarter.
Patriots individual statistics
Passing statistics
Player | Attempts | Completions | Completion rate | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Sacks | Rating | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Attempts | Completions | Completion rate | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Sacks | Rating | EPA/Play |
Mac Jones | 38 | 24 | 63.2% | 232 | 2 | 2 | 3-16 | 75.8 | 0.17 |
Two weeks after throwing only three passes against the Buffalo Bills, Mac Jones had the second highest output of his career in that department. With the running game not moving the ball consistently enough and New England trailing 20-0 at the onset of the fourth quarter, the rookie was asked to attempt 45 passes.
Jones had some positive moments, including a pair of touchdown throws to Hunter Henry and a long 43-yard connection with N’Keal Harry, but he also threw two costly picks. The first of those turnovers ended a red zone possession, while the second set up a Colts touchdown.
Rushing statistics
Player | Carries | Yards | Average | Touchdowns | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Carries | Yards | Average | Touchdowns | EPA/Play |
Damien Harris | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | 0 | -0.26 |
Rhamondre Stevenson | 8 | 27 | 3.4 | 0 | 0.08 |
Mac Jones | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | N/A |
Kendrick Bourne | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 0.87 |
With lead running back Damien Harris out due to a hamstring issue, the Patriots turned to fourht-round rookie Rhamondre Stevenson as their RB1. Stevenson had a 13-yard run in the second quarter but was relatively quiet throughout the day — just like fellow running back Brandon Bolden.
The most damage on the ground was actually done by non-running backs: Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Mac Jones combined to gain 40 of New England’s 81 rushing yards on just four carries.
Receiving statistics
Player | Targets | Receptions | Yards | Average | Touchdowns | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Targets | Receptions | Yards | Average | Touchdowns | EPA/Play |
Jakobi Meyers | 9 | 6 | 40 | 6.7 | 0 | 0.19 |
Kendrick Bourne | 8 | 7 | 77 | 11.0 | 2 | 1.48 |
Brandon Bolden | 6 | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | -0.08 |
Rhamondre Stevenson | 4 | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 0 | 0.54 |
Hunter Henry | 4 | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 0 | -0.92 |
Nelson Agholor | 2 | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | -0.12 |
Damien Harris | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 0.42 |
Jakob Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | -0.46 |
Mac Jones spread the football around against the Colts, with his favorite targets once again being wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and tight end Hunter Henry. Meyers led the team in targets (12) and was tied with Henry for the team-lead in receptions (6); Henry, meanwhile, had the most receiving yards on the team (77) and scored both touchdowns.
One player does deserve special mention, though. Former first-round wide receiver N’Keal Harry registered two receptions, including the aforementioned 43-yard snag in the fourth quarter.
Front seven statistics
Player | Tackles | Sacks | QB hits | Interceptions | Passes defensed | Forced fumbles | Recovered fumbles |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Tackles | Sacks | QB hits | Interceptions | Passes defensed | Forced fumbles | Recovered fumbles |
Lawrence Guy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Dont'a Hightower | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kyle Van Noy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Deatrich Wise Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ja'Whaun Bentley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Christian Barmore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Matthew Judon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jamie Collins Sr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Davon Godchaux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Daniel Ekuale | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Patriots secondary did a solid job limiting the Colts’ running game early on, but it broke down at the most inopportune time: down 20-17 just outside the two-minute warning, the unit allowed Jonathan Taylor to take a cutback run 67 yards to the end zone for the decisive touchdown.
In total, the unit therefore surrendered 226 rushing yards and a score on 39 carries.
Secondary statistics
Player | Tackles | Sacks | QB hits | Interceptions | Passes defensed | Forced fumbles | Recovered fumbles |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Tackles | Sacks | QB hits | Interceptions | Passes defensed | Forced fumbles | Recovered fumbles |
Devin McCourty | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
J.C. Jackson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Adrian Phillips | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joejuan Williams | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kyle Dugger | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Myles Bryant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
D'Angelo Ross | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Patriots’ defense was tested through the air on only 12 occasions, and it held up its end of the bargain: Colts quarterback Carson Wentz completed just five of his pass attempts for 57 yards with a touchdown and interception apiece.
That INT was grabbed by safety Devin McCourty with an assist by linebacker Jamie Collins. Cornerback J.C. Jackson, meanwhile, broke up three of Wentz’s passes.
Kicking statistics
Player | Field goals | Extra points | Punts | Gross punt average | Net punt average | Blocked kicks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Field goals | Extra points | Punts | Gross punt average | Net punt average | Blocked kicks |
Nick Folk | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Jake Bailey | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 47.3 | 29.3 | 0 |
The biggest number in this table is the one right at the bottom. After already seeing two of his punts get blocked earlier this year, the Patriots’ protection unit once again failed Jake Bailey. Indianapolis’ Matthew Adams burst through the line in the first quarter, with the football being recovered by his team for six points.
Return game statistics
Player | Tackles | Punt returns | Punt return average | Punt return touchdowns | Kickoff returns | Kickoff return average | Kickoff return touchdowns |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Tackles | Punt returns | Punt return average | Punt return touchdowns | Kickoff returns | Kickoff return average | Kickoff return touchdowns |
Matthew Slater | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gunner Olszewski | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 20.6 | 0 |
Brandon King | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Patriots’ return game had a quiet day, with Gunner Olszewski running back just two kicks. Obviously, though, the protection breakdown on the blocked punt was a huge miscue and part of why New England’s seven-game winning streak came to a disappointing end.
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