The New England Patriots (5-4) dominated the Indianapolis Colts (3-5-1) with a 26-3 thrashing at home. Mac Jones limited the turnovers, and the Patriots made Sam Ehlinger’s afternoon a nightmare with nine team sacks, while also holding the Colts to just 121 total yards of offense.
The Patriots will head into the bye week before taking on the New York Jets, who surprisingly knocked off the Buffalo Bills this week.
Let’s take a look at the three stars who made this blowout possible.
First Star: Matthew Judon
Matthew Judon had himself another dominating performance, notching three sacks to add to his league-leading 11.5 sacks. Judon was a force as a pass rusher and in the run game, and he simply couldn’t be contained by the Colts’ struggling offensive line.
It is hard to imagine anyone other than Judon taking away this week’s first star, but Josh Uche also had three sacks and unfortunately gets the honorable mention tag from me.
The two linebackers left the struggling Colts offense in shambles on a afternoon where the defense only gave up three points.
Second Star: Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones made a huge impact on the game on both the defensive side of the ball and special teams. His punt block in the second quarter put the Patriots in position to score their first touchdown of the game. It was an incredible play that made things easier on the struggling Patriots offense.
But Jones’ heroics didn’t end there.
He also came away with a pick-six in the fourth quarter to really put the game out of reach for the Colts. Jones had a heck of a week and is well-deserving of the second star with his involvement in special teams and on defense.
Third Star: Nick Folk
Nick Folk continues to knock them down.
The veteran kicker was 4-of-4 on field goal attempts and 2-of-2 on extra points in Sunday’s game. It was a perfect kicking day overall that led to 14 offensive points and Folk getting the third star this week.
As the offense works back into rhythm, it’s good that Folk can be that dependable offensive playmaker capable of stepping up and consistently putting points on the board. It was another game where he got to show off his accuracy and help keep the Patriots afloat by picking up their fifth win of the season.
