The Patriots did what they had to do against the Colts, but they are really going to hear it from the coaching staff this week despite their 31-24 victory. In my opinion, playing hard for 60 minutes is the most valuable thing for a football team. Throughout the years, we have seen many upsets in this league. So, Bill Belichick was right to praise the inferior Colts prior to this game on Sunday, because the Patriots had to know that any team in the NFL has potential. The coaches did make them realize that the Colts have the talent to beat anyone, and the Patriots found out about this. Records don't mean much, because it all depends on who plays better on that given day. New England was playing very well on both sides of the ball until late in the game. It looked like it was going to be another blowout win, but Indianapolis made it interesting in the fourth quarter, with the help of a Patriots meltdown. The Patriots are now 9-3, and the Colts remain win-less at 0-12. These two teams are headed in opposite directions. Here are the things that led to these results.

It is necessary to understand some of the things Bill Belichick was trying to do. He was clearly experimenting with new players on defense. These players are either on special teams, or the practice squad, but they got a chance to start in this game because of these reasons. First of all, the Patriots don't have the best depth on defense because of all the injuries, so other people will be forced to step up to the challenge. Next, they were playing the Colts, and there is no chance a special teams guy like Matthew Slater will be the starting safety for the Pats in the playoffs against teams like Pittsburgh. Another reason for the new faces on defense was because several players, according to Belichick, showed interest in wanting to play on defense this week, so the coaching staff had more options than they normally would. Because of these things, new players were in roles that they regularly wouldn't be in, and this was a huge reason for their struggles on defense, and much of quarterback Dan Orlovsky's success.

The offense, and Tom Brady did play very well for about 45 minutes, but they couldn't get anything going when the defense needed some rest. Gronkowski had three touchdowns. His 13 touchdowns this season are tied for the most all time by a tight-end in NFL history. Green-Ellis also had a rushing score. This early scoring provided 28 points and Gostowski added a field goal to make it 31. However, the Patriots were outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter, which is not a good sign, because they won't win by doing this against tougher teams. But there were some good things to take from this game, and many of them had something to do with the offense. Tom Brady didn't turn the ball over, had 2 touchdowns, a good completion rate, and a little under 300 yards. Wes Welker had yet another spectacular game, and Hernandez showed that he can still be a contributor. But the most important play that may have been overlooked was Deion Branch's onside kick recovery to save the game. This guy has proven to be reliable and he is the perfect example of a team player and a Patriot. Fans can only imagine what it would have been like if the Patriots managed to allow the Colts to get the ball back, score, and win the game.

As I previously mentioned, I didn't expect the Pats defense to play lights out with several inexperienced players starting. But I also didn't expect them to play as poorly as they did. Giving up 24 points to one of the worst offenses in the league is a concern. But everyone knows by now that the Patriots have a pretty bad defense. Hopefully, they can play a little better in the playoffs. The easiest way to do this would be by generating a pass rush, which they were able to do for a short period of time. Other than that, getting a little healthier, and just executing the game plan better would obviously help.