Patriots Turn Up the Defense

The New England Patriots were subdued after their first victory of the season. They already had more fun than they could have expected against the NFL’s highest scoring team.

The Patriots used the Colts’ own approach, a big first half and touchdowns on Peyton Manning passes, to beat Indianapolis, 44-13, on Sunday.

“We haven’t done anything,” Patriot linebacker Bryan Cox said. “I don’t come out and do what I’m supposed to do and think, all of a sudden, I’m great.”

Still, the division upset was a big win for New England (1-2) against a team with offensive stars like Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison.

“It was almost a must-win situation,” Patriot cornerback Ty Law said. “From the first whistle, we went out there to hit them and smack them in the mouth.”

Law returned an interception for a 23-yard touchdown and Otis Smith brought another back 78 yards for a score as Manning threw three to bring his total to seven in three games. He also threw his seventh touchdown pass, a 17-yarder to Marcus Pollard that made it 37-13.

“I don’t think anyone on our team played well or coached well,” Colt Coach Jim Mora said. “Their play didn’t surprise me.”

For New England, Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals and Antowain Smith rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns, outplaying James, who was held to 55 yards on 17 carries.

“If we would have been able to move the ball on third downs then things would have been better,” James said. “But that didn’t happen and that’s the reason for us not scoring in the first half.”

The Patriots scored 13 points in the last 5:50 of the second quarter and led, 20-0, at halftime against the Colts (2-1), who averaged 33 first-half points in their previous two games.

New England did it without Drew Bledsoe, expected to miss at least two more games because of internal bleeding in his chest following a tackle last week. He was replaced by Tom Brady, who went 13 for 23 for 168 yards.

The fact that Indianapolis had the fourth worst run defense in the league didn’t hurt. It gave up 177 yards rushing after going into the game with an average of 141.5.

The Colts finally scored on Manning’s 10-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter, making it 23-7, but the Patriots kept rolling.

They came back with a 62-yard drive in which a 38-yard completion to Antowain Smith, the longest reception of his career, set up Kevin Faulk’s eight-yard scoring run and a 30-7 lead.

James came into the game as the NFL’s rushing leader with an average of 123 yards, but his franchise record of five straight games with at least 100 yards was snapped.

“People will probably be surprised,” Otis Smith said, “but the key is we weren’t surprised.”