Colts 18, Patriots 15

INDIANAPOLIS -- Adam Vinatieri showed New England he’s still the NFL’s best clutch kicker.

The Patriots’ career scoring leader, who booted winning field goals in two of their Super Bowl wins and then left town as a free agent, kicked a 52-yarder with 8:05 left to give the Indianapolis Colts an 18-15 victory.

New England tight end David Thomas had as much to do with the outcome as Vinatieri. With the Patriots (5-3) facing third and two at the Colts’ 32 with 4:45 left, BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for one yard and Thomas drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play. That put the Patriots in a third-and-16 situation from the Colts’ 45, and all they could muster was a yard before Bob Sanders picked off Matt Cassel’s fourth-down throw.

Indianapolis improved to 4-4.

Quoteworthy: “I felt like that was definitely a critical mistake for me, and it really cost the team.” -- David Thomas, Patriots tight end, on a key penalty against him