New England Patriots Game Recap: On to the AFC Championship Game

Jan 11, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (37) intercepts a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver LaVon Brazill (not pictured) during the first quarter of the 2013 AFC divisional playoff football game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

On the Colts first drive of the game the interception thrown by Andrew Luck on third down was set-up by the run-stop by the New England defense on second down and three. Alfonzo Dennard, questionable to play today, made his presence felt by stepping in front of Colts wide receiver LaVon Brazill on a third-and-two and returned the interception 27 yards to the 2 yard line. Defensive tackle Chris Jones wrapped up Colts running back Donald Brown for no gain.

On the Patriots’ first play from scrimmage LeGarrette Blount followed fullback James Develin and left tackle Nate Solder into the end zone and a quick 7-0 Patriots lead. After kicking off, on second and seven defensive end Chandler Jones got the pressure on Andrew Luck and forced an incompletion. On third down the crossing pattern to T.Y. Hilton was far short of the first down with Aqib Talib running him down and forcing a punt.

After two runs by Blount, on third and four Tom Brady found running back Shane Vereen wide open in the flat for an easy first down and a thirteen yard gain. In the steady rain, the Patriots on second down had an interesting formation with two running backs, Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen, both in the backfield and releasing into pass routes.  That seemed to confuse the Colts defenders trying to account for both of them and left an open space for wide receiver Julien Edelman with room to catch and run.

On their next third and three quarterback Tom Brady threaded a beautiful low laser to wide receiver Danny Amendola for sixteen yards and setting up a first and goal. Two runs by LeGarrette Blount later and it was 14-0 Patriots. Like the first touchdown, Blount went right behind left tackle Nate Solder and left guard Logan Mankins on his second two yard touchdown run. Credit to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui for some strong blocking on the touchdown run as the Patriots went hurry-up to the line of scrimmage and put the Colts defense on their heels.

The Patriots defense got pressure on Andrew Luck again on second-and-two as rookie linebacker Jamie Collins got his helmet in his gut and disrupted the pass causing an incompletion. However, the Colts finally gained a first down by converting on third down as the pass rush was non-existent. Another strong second down play by cornerback Alfonzo Dennard knocking the ball away from wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers and forced a third down and six.

This time, the Colts converted a third down again, this time with quarterback Andrew Luck again getting heavy pass rush. Defensive end Chandler Jones hit Luck as he threw and disrupted the pass but Luck muscled the ball out to his college teammate Griff Whalen for 22 yards. On the next play Luck dropped the ball right over cornerback Alfonzo Dennard on a beautiful pass to Lavon Brazill for a 38 yard touchdown and cut the lead to 14-7.

The Patriots went three-and-out as the Colts defense fed off the offense and forced a punt with a strong pass rush on first down and third down to force an incompletion and led to a drive-stalling sack. Linebacker Erik Walden got the coverage sack as Brady had no one open and went down ducking down under the pass rush.

Another third down and eight saw linebacker Jamie Collins make another big play in the first half as he was step-for-step with tight end Coby Fleener and broke up the pass down the right sideline. The Colts missed a golden opportunity on first down as wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers had a big drop on a laser from Andrew Luck that should have been a 20 yard gain.

With Stevan Ridley on for Blount, two runs led to a third and three from the 32. This time Shane Vereen converted with a runas he zipped right up the middle behind guard Dan Connolly and center Ryan Wendell. Another couple of runs and the Patriots had another first down on runs by Ridley, Vereen, and Blount. A quick play-action fake led to an open Julien Edelman who juked his way to 27 yards and a first down to the 25 yard line.

On third and ten after two incompletions, Brady found Edelman again for 13 yards and a first down. Three more running plays going Vereen, Ridley, Vereen to have a first and goal at the one. For the third time in the first half, running back LeGarrette Blount went into the end zone to give the Patriots a 21-7 lead.

Again, the Colts came back as quarterback Andrew Luck found tight end Coby Fleener for 29 yards to get into New England territory. A conversion with his feet followed for Luck and the Colts offense looked to be marching again. Another big third down for the Patriots defense followed as it was third and five at the New England 31 yard line. Luck again found Griff Whalen for a first down to the 22.

Into the red zone for the first time, the Patriots got a big play on second and six as Dont’a Hightower blew up a running play to stuff running back Donald Brown and force another third down. This time Luck tried to find T.Y. Hilton down the right sideline rolling out into coverage by cornerback Aqib Talib and a nice play on the ball by safety Steve Gregory.  The red zone stop brought out old friend Adam Vinatieri to the turf of Gillette Stadium where he made so many big kicks for New England.  The 36 yard field goal attempt by Vinatieri cut the lead to 21-10.

The Patriots came out with a steady dose of LeGarrette Blount but he stalled and led to a fourth and one at midfield. With 2:42 left in the half, the Patriots were forced to punt. Then all hell broke loose. The ball was snapped over the head of punter Ryan Allen who ran it down inside the five yard line and inexplicably tried to shovel the ball to a teammate and the ball was batted out the back of the end zone for a safety.  Now New England had to free kick back to the Colts with the score 21-12. The Patriots had third and two at the 49 yard line and did not attempt to pass the ball. They tried to trick the Colts by leaving the offense on the field and received a delay of game penalty. That led to bad snap and safety.

Now the Colts had all the momentum and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck wound up for a long pass on first down. Defensive tackle Sealver Siliga and defensive end Rob Ninkovich got pressure on Luck and while wrapped up low by Siliga and hit by Ninkovich on the throw, the ball hung up in the air and was nearly intercepted by New England. Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and safety Devin McCourty collided and knocked the ball away from each other in coverage of wide receiver LaVon Brazill.

At the two minute warning, the Colts had another big third down and ten. Andrew Luck converted again on third down as he found T.Y. Hilton for 16 yards and a big first down. Rather than punting the ball back to New England with a lot of time, the Colts now could keep driving, eating clock, keeping the ball away from the New England offense. However, Luck’s luck ran out as fullback Stanley Havili was unable to catch a short pass cleanly and New England linebacker Dont’a Hightower intercepted the pass. The pass was slightly behind Havili, but he should have caught it.

With 1:14 to play in the half, the Patriots continued to run the football on first down and second down.  On third down Brady got running back Shane Vereen open down the left sideline on a wheel route, but the pass bounced off his hands and forced a punt. This time, however, punter Ryan Allen was on the sideline with a right arm injury. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski stepped up and boomed a 53 yard punt in relief to pin the Colts deep. The Colts ran once and went to the locker room down 21-12 to New England.