Monday 17 November 2014 15:57, UK
It was billed as Tom Brady versus Andrew Luck, but unheralded New England Patriots running back Jonas Gray stole the show as he scored four touchdowns to run the Indianapolis Colts ragged in a 42-20 victory pounding.
Gray was only signed off the Patriots’ practice squad a month ago after failing to make a final roster in over two years in the NFL, but in his third game he dominated the Colts and ran for 199 yards and a Patriots-record four touchdowns.
Pats coach Bill Belichick used the running game to beat the Colts in the playoffs last season and he followed the same formula, albeit with a lesser known name doing all the donkey work – and at times Gray looked unstoppable.
Brady threw two touchdown passes to cover up for a shaky first half when he threw two poor interceptions, the second an especially poor decision and throw as he floated a ball up well short of his intended target.
Luckily for Brady, the ground game was dominant and while Luck was able to throw for 303 yards and two scores, the Colts’ own running game was stuffed as they could gain just 19 yards on the ground with Ahmad Bradshaw going down injured.
"It's kind of funny because on Saturday I remember walking into the building and Mr Kraft (Patriots owner) pulled me aside and said, 'You're going to have a big game this week, so be ready,'" said Gray.
"Just hearing that from the owner and hearing that from the head coach, hearing that from the leader of the team, definitely gives you a positive outlook and definitely gives you the mindset to go out and do your best."
Gray scored two first half TDs with the Colts only answering with a TD catch from Hakeem Nicks and a field goal, but he got another two in the second half while Brady hit tight ends Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski.
The win puts the Patriots on an AFC-best 8-2 mark and could be a crucial one come playoff time as they’ve now beaten both Indy (6-4) and Denver (7-3) who will be among their main rivals for top spot in the Conference.
Despite all the talk of Brady taking on Luck, a week after thoroughly outplaying Peyton Manning, the New England triggerman was happy to largely take a back seat to his flying running back.
"Whatever it takes," Brady said. "There's games that you go into and we're not sure how well we're going to run it. But when it's going well, you just want to keep giving it to them. We try to stay balanced. But if they're not going to respect the running game, then you have to keep giving it to them."
New England have now won six straight games since suffering a humiliating Monday Night Football defeat in Kansas City, while the Colts are now just a game ahead of the Houston Texans at the top of the AFC South and to make matters worse lost top rusher Ahmad Bradshaw and tight end Dwayne Allen to ankle injuries.
Luck did manage to increase his team record of 300-yard passing games to eight straight though, and he’s now just one behind Drew Brees’ NFL record of nine heading into what should be a bounce-back opportunity against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
New England’s flying form will be put to the test in their next couple of games as they host the tough Detroit Lions before facing the storming Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
