NFL Week 5: Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots Recap

by
Former Writers
October 5, 2018

Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism via Flickr

Patriots Collect Their Eighth Straight Win Against Colts

New England hosted Indianapolis for Week 5’s Thursday Night Football game. The Colts came into Gillette Stadium looking for their second win of the season but came up short. The Patriots came out hot scoring 24 points in the first half.

Quarterback Tom Brady started the game hot connecting on 13 out of 14 of his passes. Brady’s only incompletion in that span was intended for wide receiver Julian Edelman. Overall, Brady completed 77% of his passes, threw for 341 yards, three touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and two interceptions.

Edelman made his return after his four-game suspension. Edelman hasn’t played a game since Super Bowl LI. Easing him back into the game, he had seven receptions for 57 yards. Josh Gordon, a WR recently acquired from the Cleveland Browns, scored his first touchdown in a win since October 3, 2013.

A win in October for the Patriots at home is no surprise. They tend to start the season slow, but over the last three seasons, Brady has a 23-2 record at home in Weeks 5-17.

Andrew Luck Doesn’t Seem To Have Much Luck

The game wasn’t going as planned during the first half since the Colts’ first two possessions ended in a punt and a missed field goal. QB Andrew Luck threw an interception leading to a Patriots field goal.

In the second half, the Colts started to rally back, coming out of the gate strong with a touchdown on their second drive after forcing New England to punt. After a Brady interception, the Colts were only behind a touchdown. Another interception in the fourth by Luck lead to a New England touchdown and the final demise of the Colts.

Luck is now 1-6 in his last eight prime-time games and 0-6 (including playoffs) against the Patriots. Luck also has 12 interceptions against New England, which is the most by any single opponent in his career.

The Colts now fall to 1-4 while New England rises above .500 at 3-2.

Tom Brady’s Record

During the fourth quarter, Brady hit a huge milestone in his career. A 34-yard shot downfield to Gordon marked Brady’s 500th touchdown pass. He now joins an elite club with only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as its lone members.

Brady is only 39 touchdown passes away from passing Manning and becoming the all-time leader in the respective category. Hitting 540 touchdown passes can be easily achieved, but the most touchdown passes thrown in 2016, and 2017 was 40. Being a little over a quarter of the way through the season makes it more plausible to be hit next year.

Brady has also now hit 71 different receivers for touchdown passes, a new NFL record. Brady was the MVP of the game no doubt. Next week might be a different story when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs come to town.