What’s hard to disagree with is that it was, at the very least, a jaw-dropping move. The Patriots coach sent his offense out there, called his final timeout, then trotted Tom Brady and Co. out there once again, this time with a well-thought-out play call that would determine whom walked out of this one with a win.
Next, came the ugly part for the Patriots. Kevin Faulk caught a short pass and the Colts’ Melvin Bullitt dropped him near the sticks, and the measurement came up short.
It wasn’t over then. But what Belichick might have known would happen - that Manning would score to win the game if he got the ball again - is exactly what did happen. Colts 35, Patriots 34. Start your second-guessing now.
“If they punt, they probably thought we were going to have a shot at running it back down the whole field,’’ said Colts right tackle Ryan Diem. “Yeah, I think they had some respect for our offense. I still think it’s a pretty bold move. If it’s me, I make us go the long field. But hey, they went for it, our defense executed and gave us that chance.’’
Hard to blame anyone for doubting the Patriots could get that defensive stop, whether the Colts set up shop at the Patriots’ 29 or their own 29.
While the New England defense has improved, it lacks a big, defining, game-ending kind of stop.
Against Buffalo, the defense yielded a touchdown when it could least afford to - allowing the Bills to take a two-possession lead - and got bailed out by Leodis McKelvin’s case of the yips.
Against Baltimore, it allowed an offense to drive the field, and was busted loose when Mark Clayton dropped a sure catch for a fourth-down conversion within the final minute.
The losses to Denver and the Jets had spots in which the team needed a stop in the worst way and couldn’t get one. And so now, with possible playoff seeding on the line, it’s easy to see how confidence would wane with a simple look across the field to the other sideline.
There was a time when Belichick had Manning’s number. Now? When these teams face off, it’s not Robert Kraft who owns the Patriots. It’s the guy wearing the Blue 18.
