Playoffs arrived again in New England on Saturday, as the Patriots (12-4) entered their first postseason matchup of the season against the Indianapolis Colts (11-5) in the divisional round. Once again, the Patriots clinched a first-round bye, securing it despite a myriad of injuries. The Colts, meanwhile, also overcame their fair share of injury setbacks to reach the game. Indianapolis beat the Kansas City Chiefs last week in the second largest comeback in playoff history. Their 45-44 victory saw second-year quarterback Andrew Luck rally his team from 28 points down in the second half. Between Brady and Luck, as well as several other fascinating subplots and positional battles, there were always going to be highlights to keep track of.
In the end, the Patriots emerged victorious by a 43-22 final. The game was dominated by New England's power running game, as they set a franchise record with six touchdowns on the ground. Here are all of the highlights from a spectacular night of football in Foxborough.
8:10 p.m. before kickoff: The Patriots published several pre-game photos on their Facebook page, including this one, which showed the extent of the conditions:
In an early mistake, Andrew Luck threw an interception on the first third down of the game (3rd and 2), and Alfonzo Dennard took it back to the tw0-yard line.
LeGarrette Blount ran it in to put the Patriots up 7-0 early in the first.
After a sustained drive from the Patriots that included several third down conversions, LeGarrette Blount rumbled in for his second touchdown of the night already. 14-0 Patriots, still in the first quarter.
The Colts answered, with a touchdown drive of their own, despite absorbing some serious pressure from the Patriots pass-rush. LaVon Brazil hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7, Patriots still on top in the 1st.
An underrated play near the end of the first quarter: Rookie linebacker Jamie Collins covers Colts tight end Colby Fleener perfectly. Great display from the second-round pick.
LeGarrette Blount's third touchdown of the night put an exclamation on another strong Patriots drive. The Patriots lead 21-7 in the second quarter.
LeGarrett's touchdown celebration dance:
A bad snap setup a lucky play (albeit a poor mistake) from Patriots punter Ryan Allen. This was scored a safety, and the Colts now only trail 21-12 in the second.
With less than two minutes to go, Dont'a Hightower ended a threatening Colts drive with this interception.
A shoulder injury to Patriots punter Ryan Allen forced kicker Stephen Gostkowski to punt the ball instead. He nailed it, sending the ball 53 yards and trapping the Colts, forcing them to run the ball and end the first half. Patriots lead at the half, 21-12. Clearly, Gostkowski was happy about his effort, and so was Julian Edelman.
Andrew Luck was far from defeated, however. After it appeared the Patriots rush was about to sack him, he evaded pressure and made a ridiculous throw downfield for a huge completion.
The Colts got into the red zone, but Jamie Collins and the Patriots defense made sure they wouldn't come away with an easy score. Vinatieri's field goal made it 21-15 early in the third quarter.
The Patriots immediately answered, with Stevan Ridley putting an exclamation on a nine play, 88-yard drive for a touchdown, pushing the New England lead to 29-15.
Luck still wouldn't go away, engineering another Colts touchdown. LaVon Brazill caught his second score of the night, cutting the Patriots lead to 29-22.
Jamie Collins was a menace for Indianapolis all night. Here he tackled former first-round running back Trent Richardson with one hand.
Any chance of a Colts rally from that point died, as LeGarrette Blount lumbered away for a 73-yard touchdown.
And just when Luck needed to move the ball quickly, the all-action Jamie Collins was waiting for him once again, making an interception.
New England didn't purpose try to run up of the score, but simply kept their running game accelerating downhill. Stevan Ridley made the contest officially out of reach with his second touchdown of the night, and the score was 43-22.
Blount also continued to be effective, killing the clock with runs like this one.
And Alfonzo Dennard added a degree of symmetry to the game. Since he began the highlights with an interception, one more in the fourth quarter capped it off.
Images via Patriots.com & CBS Sports
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