Pats-Colts

There really isn't much for Patriots fans to say. The Patriots lost because they deserved to lose. They turned the ball over five times, four on interceptions (at least two of which are directly on the receivers who let balls bounce off their hands) and looked utterly discombobulated on offense in the second half. The most perplexing part of that is that it seemed as if the Patriots felt a responsibility to go mano a mano against the Colts, to beat them by passing even though the Colts showed little sustained ability to stop the Patriot running attack. It was almost as if trying to win was not enough -- Belichick and company seemed determined to prove that they could win their way, that they needed to prove that they are the smartest coaches in the game. It is shocking in a lot of ways that they even had a chance at the end, though in keeping with the theme of the game, every time a window opened, someone on the New England side slammed it on their own fingers.

The Patriots are back in a fight for positioning now, tied with the Broncos, who have the tiebreaker, among other teams in the 6-2 range. But that's the NFL. Nothing is supposed to come easy and now Manning and the Colts get to ride the team of destiny thing for as long as they can hold out. They deserve it, as much as it pains me to say it. Hopefully this will be continued in January.