Patriots Three Up, Three Down: Challenges Looming in the Distance?

Following a dominating performance last week against Miami, the Patriots never broke stride in Week 5. The Colts were forced to accept a 38-24 loss to New England, although they put up a good fight. Receivers were targeted all over the place and Indianapolis couldn’t keep up. New England’s offense truly won the game for their team.

Three Up

Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon

While each of the eight receivers Brady targeted played well, Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon stood out among the rest. Edelman started his first game of the 2018-2019 season with a chip on his shoulder. Following a disputed suspension from the NFL, the receiver played with something to prove; he played as if he hadn’t missed a single game. Edelman finished with 7 receptions for 57 yards, as well as 2 punt returns for 20 yards. Josh Gordon has similarly found his place on the Patriots team. Gordon wrapped up with 2 receptions for 50 yards, 1 touchdown, and a long catch of 34 yards. Brady was forced to throw a Hail Mary as pressure came and Gordon was right there to catch the touchdown pass in between two defenders. Gordon’s first touchdown as a Patriot also marked the 71st different receiver Brady has thrown a touch down pass to in his career.

Tom Brady

Speaking of Brady, he made a handful of incredible plays during the game. For starters, he targeted more than 2 receivers during the game. He spread the ball around and confused the Colts defense, thus the reason they could score so easily. Brady completed 34 of 44 passes for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 1 touchdown of his own. The quarterback took one for the team when he sacrificed himself by jumping over the line for a risky touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter. He was also framed for both of the interceptions seen in his statistics; Hogan and Gronkowski were responsible.

James White and Sony Michel

James White appears to improve with each game. He caught 10 passes for 77 yards and ran for 1 touchdown. In one play he caught a pass and turned around only to fake out 2 different defenders and pick up 18 yards. Sony Michel is following closely in his footsteps. Michel had 18 carries for 98 yards, 1 catch for 12 yards, and 1 touchdown. His best play included fake outs and agile footwork to gain 34 yards before the defense could catch up. These two combined will be unstoppable.

Three Down

Devin McCourty

While the offense had an outstanding game, there is a reason the Colts scored 24 points. Devin McCourty would be responsible for one of their touchdowns, had a player on the offense not been flagged. However, he still brought Indianapolis to the base of their end zone where bad coverage by the zone finished the job. McCourty could have had an interception earlier in the game, had he put in the effort to hold onto the ball. Instead, he simply let it bounce off his chest.

Chris Hogan

Chris Hogan had an uninspiring game. He caught 3 of 4 passes for 34 yards. The one pass Hogan didn’t catch resulted in an interception that counted against Brady. Throughout the game, the receiver made little effort to get open and fight through the defense. He was going through the motions and that won’t be tolerated on Belichick’s team.

Jonathan Jones and Stephon Gilmore

Both of these players had bi-polar performances. They had a few good plays interspersed with horrendous ones. Jonathan Jones had an interception, but he also received penalty flags and cost a decent amount of yardage due to poor coverage. Stephon Gilmore similarly had a couple incredible pass breaks where he gave 100% in order to get to the right spot. On other plays, he didn’t seem to care. He gave up an easy touchdown that could have been prevented had he given the same amount of effort the entire game.

While there were ups and downs on both sides, the Patriots still have touch ups to work on before facing Kansas City in Week 6. The Chiefs will show no mercy with their undefeated record on the line. New England will have to shape up or ship out as they face their toughest competition yet.

 

-Caitlyn Allen is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage Sports Media and covers the New England Patriots.  Follow her on Twitter @caitlyyyn_allen