Four studs, four duds from the Patriots’ devastating loss to the Colts

FOXBORO, Mass. – The Patriots gave away another win on Sunday.

New England had an incredibly efficient afternoon on offense, scoring on four straight drives to open the game – a first for the franchise since January 2022. It was probably the best game the unit has played in the last two seasons , but there are still way too many things to clean up in all three phases.

It’s never going to be easy with this squad, as evidenced by a 25-24 loss where they basically gave things away. But this is perfect for this exercise. Let’s take a look at the basics of Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts:

SUPPORT

Drake Maye
Maye made his trademark mistake and threw an interception in the low red zone. But other than that he was incredible.

The Patriots led a balanced attack to victory, which the rookie signal-caller played a key role in, racking up 238 passing yards and 59 rushing yards on the afternoon. Maye’s ability to find gaps in the running game has been crucial to success on offense – and it also helps that he can throw them into the mix.

Christian González
It’s nice to have an All-Pro cornerback, right?

Gonzalez did his best to end the game with an interception in the fourth quarter, and even though it ended terribly, it felt like a dagger at the time.

Antonio Gibson
Gibson has proven to be a worthy reserve player all season and usually steps up when the opportunity arises. The Patriots relied on Rhamondre Stevenson to carry the load (18 carries, 73 yards), but it was Gibson who made the most of his limited opportunities with 62 yards on seven carries. Oh yeah, he also scored the game-winning touchdown.

New England should consider allowing him more touchdowns down the stretch.

Hunter Heinrich
Maye and Henry have become famous friends in recent weeks, and their chemistry was on display again on Sunday. Henry had seven catches for 75 yards and is now nearing career highs in receptions (58), yards (610) and first-down conversions (34).

Idiots

Of these Godchaux
The Patriots got hurt in the running game, and we primarily blame the guy who was paid to prevent exactly that. The Colts got everything they wanted on the ground, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, before being forced to throw the ball down in the fourth quarter.

Mike Onwenu
New England’s entire offensive line should probably be on this list, but they all came off after an ugly first half full of pre- and post-snap penalties. Onwenu is still finding his way into this stretch, as he is responsible for negative yardage plays on each of the offense’s first three possessions.

You can’t be the only one getting paid and still make routine mistakes.

Red zone offense
The Patriots had opportunities to score from almost all of their offensive players, but somehow managed to go 2-for-6 in the red zone. Who do you blame? Maye? Alex Van Pelt? Joey Slye?

It’s difficult to come up with a specific name, so we’ll break things down across the entire operation. Van Pelt’s decision-making at the end of the first half was puzzling, resulting in a chip-shot field goal attempt that Slye missed. Maye threw an interception on the ensuing offensive possession that probably should have been caught by Henry.

Jerod Mayo
The Patriots only needed one stop to win the game.

Mayo had the opportunity to call a timeout and restart its defense after a two-point conversion attempt, but chose to let things unfold. Anthony Richardson plunged into the end zone and gave Indy the victory after a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

It’s an imperfect game, but these flaws are inexcusable.