INDIANAPOLIS — David Patten ran, caught, and threw for touchdowns today, and Tom Brady enjoyed another solid day at quarterback, as the New England Patriots humbled the defense-poor Indianapolis Colts, 38-17 Sunday afternoon at the RCA Dome.
The Patriots, who sweep the season series with the Colts, bombarded their opponents with three spectacular plays in the first half, all of them involving Patten.
On their first offensine play, Patten ran a reverse right for a 29-yard score. Then in the second quarter, the Patriots shocked the Colts with consecutive one-play scoring drives. Brady hit Patten for a 91-yard scoring pass, then Brady tossed a flanker screen left to Patten, who then threw deep to Troy Brown for a 60-yard score.
The Patriots were also aided by two first quarter blocked field goals. Brandon Mitchell got the first, and Leonard Myers returned it 35 yards to set up the first Patten touchdown. Tebucky Jones blocked the secondat the end of the quarter.
Brady enjoyed another stellar day, completing 16 of 20 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Brady threw a two-yard scoring toss to Jermaine Wiggins in the second quarter, and found Patten from six yards out in the final period.
The 91-yard bomb to Patten in the second quarter was the longest pass play in Patriot history. The previous long was a 90-yard pass from Tony Eason to Craig James on September 15, 1985 against Chicago. The previous long completion to a wide receiver was an 88-yard score from Jim Plunkett to Randy Vataha against the Colts on December 19, 1971.
Patten distinguished himself with his “triple threat” day. He became the first NFL player to throw, pass and run for touchdowns in the same game since Walter Payton did it for Chicago exactly 22 years ago today.
The Patriot offense performed so well, it negated huge days for the big three Indianapolis offensive stars. Peyton Manning finished with 334 yards passing on 22 of 34 passes completed. Edgerrin James rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries, and Marvin Harrison caught eight passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
Despite those numbers, the porous Colt defense was beat up all game long. The Patriots put the game in the bag with a fourth quarter drive that chewed up 10:11 off the clock.
The Patriots upped their record to 3-3, while the Colts fell to 2-3.
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Covering Boston Sports since 1997. Native of Worcester, Mass. Attended UMass and Univ of Michigan. Lives in California. Just recently retired after 40 years of public school teaching. Podcasts on YouTube at @thepic4139
