Week 9 Game Recap: Indianapolis Colts 40, New England Patriots 21

What you need to know

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning finally exorcised his New England demons, and he did so in emphatic fashion. Leading the Colts to scores on seven of their first eight drives earned Manning his first win against the Tom Brady-led Patriots. He threw touchdowns to both of his favorite receivers; two to Marvin Harrison and one to Reggie Wayne. In addition to his three scores, it was Manning’s first 300 yard passing game of the season.

Harrison and Wayne both received double-digit targets, and both finished with over 120 receiving yards. Edgerrin James was once again the workhorse on the ground, earning 104 yards and one touchdown on 34 rushing attempts. Thanks in large part to James’ work on the ground, as well on Manning’s potently effective passing attack, the Colts were able to secure a large time of possession advantage over New England.

With the Indianapolis offense hitting on all cylinders, the Colts’ defense didn’t need to be perfect. And they weren’t, but they were stiff enough to hold off Brady’s attempts to bring the Patriots back in the second half, and made more than enough stops to allow their offense to outscore their opponent.

New England Patriots

Tom Brady had an excellent performance and produced outstanding numbers for the Patriots’ offense. His three touchdown tosses were spread to wide receivers Deion Branch, Troy Brown, and tight end Daniel Graham. He made few mental errors, and most of his misses were a result of Indianapolis’ pass rush.

There was no balance to the Patriots’ offense, as the high scoring Colts took the running game, led by Corey Dillon, completely out of the ball game. Dillon finished the game with a season-low 12 rushing attempts.

The real story for New England was once again their defense, as the secondary had no success stopping the Colts through the air. They were burned for several big plays, and allowed three scores. The rush defense was better, but only with respect to big plays. The Colts still had two rushing scores, despite averaging less than four yards per carry. It was the ineffectiveness of the Patriots’ defense that was their undoing, as Tom Brady’s magic couldn’t get them out of the hole Indianapolis kept them in all night.

What you ought to know

QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 28 - 37 - 321 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 24 - 0

Manning was obviously very motivated for this game. His performance highlighted the strengths of his game, as he repeatedly led his team on scoring drive after scoring drive, often on sustained drives of ten plays or more. He had no problems picking apart the New England secondary, managing his first 300 yard game of the year, and three touchdown passes. He threw a first half interception on an under thrown pass to tight end Dallas Clark. Uncharacteristically, he ran for 24 yards on three scrambles. He ran his normal offense calling plays at the line and did not seem to be affected much by the crowd outside of a few plays. He was extremely aggressive forcing New England to alter their game at times catching them substituting players on defense.

RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 34 - 104 - 1, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Workhorse is the perfect word to describe James’ performance. He didn’t blow up on any huge gains, but he was a consistent force that earned several first downs and aided the Colts’ play action passing. He finished the game with 34 rushing attempts and caught all three of his targets. His rushing coupled with Manning’s passing allowed Indianapolis to dominate time of possession.

RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 1 - 4 - 1

Rhodes' only run spelled James early in the second half. He made the most of his only opportunity, finding the end zone on a four yard run.

WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 9 - 128 - 2 (11 targets)

Harrison had a phenomenal night. Manning regularly found him open, and Harrison converted those throws into his best fantasy performance of the season. He basically looked as good as he ever has.

WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 9 - 124 - 1 (13 targets)

Wayne ended the night with a fantastic stat line that included 120 plus yards and a receiving touchdown. He was Manning’s number one target option. He regularly abused Patriots’ cornerback Duane Starks.

WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 4 - 34 - 0 (6 targets)

Stokley contributed from his third wide out role with 34 yards on four receptions.

TE Bryan Fletcher, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets)

Fletcher made good on both of his targets.

TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets)

Despite Manning’s excellent night, Clark was mostly an afterthought in the passing game, finishing with only one reception. He was the target on Manning’s only interception.

PK Mike Vanderjagt 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points

Vanderjagt was solid making two field goal attempts, one after a bad snap, and all four extra points.

IND Rush Defense

Thanks in large part to the volume of points put on the scoreboard by the Colts’ offense, the rush defense had a great game. New England’s Corey Dillon was mostly used in the first half, and even then was marginally effective. They held Dillon under 50 yards and forced a fumble by him that led to an Indianapolis score.

IND Pass Defense

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a great deal of success against this unit. New England focused on passing the ball for a great majority of the game, and as such most of the defensive pressure was on the Colts’ secondary. They allowed three scores throw the air and over 250 yards to Brady. The pass rush did manage two sacks in the game, but one came on the last play of the game against New England backup quarterback Doug Flutie.

QB Tom Brady, Pass: 22 - 33 - 265 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

Brady had a great night from a fantasy perspective, despite not being able to lead his team to victory. He threw a lot, especially in the second half, and for the most part was very effective. He distributed the ball to six different receivers, hitting Deion Branch, Troy Brown, and Daniel Graham for touchdowns. He threw no interceptions.

QB Doug Flutie, Pass: 3 - 7 - 20 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Flutie relieved starter Tom Brady late in the game, once the score was out of reach. He started inaccurately, but ultimately completed three passes. He was sacked and fumbled the ball on the last play of the game and Indianapolis recovered.

RB Corey Dillon, Rush: 12 - 40 - 0, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (4 targets)

Dillon’s opportunities were limited by the disparity on the scoreboard. He had adequate numbers when he did get touches in the first half, although his second quarter lost fumble essentially ended his chances for the night. The Colts went up big, and the Patriots abandoned the running game. That said, Dillon clearly ran hard when he got the ball and did not look hampered by the injuries he’s been battling.

RB Mike Cloud, Rush: 1 - -5 - 0

Cloud’s only carry to spell Corey Dillon was a horrendous five yard loss. He saw no further action after that.

WR Deion Branch, Rec: 5 - 58 - 1 (6 targets)

Branch was highly efficient with his targets, turning in a 50 plus yard performance and scoring the Patriots’ first touchdown of the game. While being number one on the depth chart, he was targeted less than Troy Brown and Daniel Graham.

WR Troy Brown, Rec: 5 - 57 - 1 (9 targets)

Brown had an unexpectedly productive night, finding the end zone in the second half and finishing with over 50 yards. He was Brady’s most targeted receiver.

WR David Givens, Rec: 4 - 64 - 0 (6 targets)

Givens again played the role of a possession receiver, although he sprinkled in a few big catches as well. It is clear that Brady trusts him to make the tough catch, and earn the necessary yards, as he was targeted on two fourth down attempts. He converted the first but not the second of these quick slants from Brady.

WR Tim Dwight (1 targets)

Dwight finished with no catches.

TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 5 - 41 - 1 (8 targets)

Graham was Brady’s second option on the night, and for stretches at a time he was consistently targeted in the passing game. He turned a tight end screen into a 30 yard run for a touchdown, looking swift and athletic in the process.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (5 targets)

Watson made three receptions for 36 yards, including two back to back catches at the start of the third quarter for 23 and seven yards.

PK Adam Vinatieri 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points

Vinatieri made all three of his extra point attempts.

NE Rush Defense

The New England rush defense allowed two rushing touchdowns. They didn’t allow any big rushing plays, but James did wear them down over the course of 34 carries and 100 plus yards. This unit suffered from the clock management expertise of the Colts, as they were on the field for most of the game and were pounded by the Indianapolis line.

NE Pass Defense

Still severely banged up, this unit once again performed poorly. Cornerback Duane Starks was benched after repeatedly being burned by Indianapolis receivers, especially Reggie Wayne. Overall, the pass defense allowed over 300 yards and three scores. Linebacker Mike Vrabel used his soft hands to pick off a Peyton Manning pass in the first half---one of the few highlights for this unit.