This game was lost before it even started.
On the road against NE on a Thursday night with half the team injured?
I was just happy they made a game of it in the second half
Leonard being out was a HUGE blow for this game. And then we lose the back up MLB in the first quarter as well. Brady and the Pats killed us right over the middle where he would have been all night
its obvious, for whatever reason, the defensive strategy was completely different this game. For whatever reason, be it Brady or injuries or lack of prep time, or all 3, they were sitting back in coverage, everything short, no extra men to pressure Brady. And he took advantage, just picked apart the D.
The offense, there was good and bad.
The bad was, again, dropped balls. Dropped balls and turnovers. Killers, many of them. This makes me appreciate Wayne, Harrison, the past WRs for the Colts all the more. Rarely dropped the ball and rarely turned it over.
Luck really did well considering the environment and no TY Hilton, no one he can really trust out there or has much timing or a QB/WR relationship with. He made one bad play, the INT before the half. Other than that, he looked great.
This team won't win games vs top teams though with 5+ drops a game, which is what has happened each of the last two games
On the positive as well, the OL in the second half looked pretty good. I thought Braden Smith looked as good at right tackle, or better, than anyone else all season. If Castonzo ever comes back, a line up of AC, Nelson, Kelly, Slauson and SMith for the OL looks to be decent
But still, no running game. Trying to fight for a few extra yards and turning it over. Stupid WR mistake leads to an INT. Can't do that vs the Pats.
The team is 1-4, but the next 3 games before the bye are certainly winnable : Buffalo, Oakland and NYJ. Its very possible we are 4-4 going into the bye and then we have 4 out of 5 games after that vs division teams, so they can be in contention going into December.
A poor record for a young team and a new coaching staff, but I actually still have hope from what I've seen
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