INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Brady got his revenge – with a little help from the Colts.
He exposed holes in the defense, allowed his teammates to do most of the heavy lifting and let Indianapolis take the air out of its own building with a bone-headed fake punt that turned the game.
Brady threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns and led the Patriots to two second-half scores in a 34-27 victory Sunday night in the “Deflategate” rematch.
It was a strange night.
In a series defined by wild games and crazy plays, Indy’s awful fake punt might have been the worst play. With most of the offensive line set up near the right sideline, Indy snapped the ball to Colt Anderson, who was immediately tackled for a 1-yard loss that gave the Patriots the ball at the Colts 35.
Six plays later, Brady got free from the pass rush and hooked up with LeGarrette Blount for an 11-yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 34-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“I saw the formation, and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” New England defensive lineman Chandler Jones said. “But it was great awareness by our special teams.”
Indy (3-3) never recovered.
New England has won seven straight over its longtime rival and is 5-0 for the first time since its 16-0 season in 2007.
While Brady wasn’t perfect – he threw his first interception of the season – he was pretty darn good again. Brady finished 23 of 37 in the first meeting since January’s AFC title game, which ultimately led to allegations of improperly inflated balls, months of investigation and eventually a four-game suspension for Brady that was nullified in court.
Had the suspension been upheld, Brady would have made his season debut in front of a hostile Indianapolis crowd.
Instead, Colts fans roared when Andrew Luck returned for Indianapolis after missing two games because of an injured right shoulder. Luck was 30 of 50 for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers.
New England players didn’t care about the crowd or the significance.
“I look at it just like any other win,” Blount said. “It feels good no matter who we’re playing.”
The game didn’t go the way anyone expected, though. New England got away from its running game, which it used with great success in the previous three meetings, and kept the ball in Brady’s hands.
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