Patriots Let Air Out Of Colts Attack, Win By 7

In a game that was a tale of two halves, the New England Patriots had their way with the Indianapolis Colts in the last two quarters to snag a 34-27 win, Sunday night.

Here are some final thoughts on tonight's action:

5-0 - The Patriots moved to 5-0 with the win as they continue to dominate the league. They also moved to 5-0 against Colts quarterback Andrew Luck with the win.

7 In A Row- The win also was New England's seventh straight win over their former rival. Yes, I said former rival because if one team dominates the other there really can't be a rivalry.

Belichick Makes Adjustments- Just as he did after a tough first half in Dallas last week and many times in the past, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made adjustments to the game plan at half time which allowed his team to pull away in the second half.

Brady Dominates Again- Once again, New England quarterback Tom Brady showed why he is the greatest player at his position in the history of the game. Brady made it look easy, completing 23 of 37 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns as he picked apart the below average Indianapolis secondary. Brady also displayed tremendous footwork and the ability to allow plays to develop multiple times over the game. For a quarterback that has never been considered extremely mobile, he made a whole lot of Colts defenders whiff tonight.

Blount Continues Domination Over Colts- Patriots running back LaGarrette Blount, who has had his way against the Colts the last few times he's played them, dominated their defense again tonight. Blount rushed for 93 yards and a score on 16 attempts on the ground and added an 11-yard touchdown in the passing game.

Fake Punt Fail- Late in the third quarter, for reasons unknown to virtually everyone on the face of the earth, the Colts lined up to punt the ball on fourth down, shifted into a wild formation with a receiver at center and everyone but him and the quarterback out wide to the right and then actually snapped the ball. Of course, New England had prepared for the play and had it covered well, but the Colts still snapped the ball because hey, why not. Running back Brandon Bolden quickly collapsed the wide open pocket and sacked the makeshift quarterback to create the turnover on downs. Of course, the Colts were whistled for being in an illegal formation as well, as none of the players who lined up wide managed to actually line up on the line of scrimmage. All in all, the play was something was a disaster for the Colts and effectively took all momentum away from them, as they had only been down by six at that point.

Amendola Goes For 100- In a game where Julian Edelman injured his finger on a touchdown reception, dropped a few passes and made just one catch for two yards in the second half, the team's number two receiver Danny Amendola stepped up in a big way. On the night, Amendola made seven catches for 105 yards and led the team in both categories.

Gronk Awakens To Start Third, Sets TE TD Record- After being held without a catch for the first two quarters of play, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made three catches on the team's opening drive of the third quarter, including a 25-yard touchdown catch. In making that catch Gronk made history by becoming the fastest tight end in NFL history to catch 60 touchdowns. It took him just 70 games to snag the 60 scores.

Pats Defense Gets To Colts O-Line & Luck In Second Half- After struggling to neutralize the Indy passing attack in the first half, the New England defensive line was able to sack Colts quarterback Andrew Luck multiple times in the last two quarters and draw flags on Colts offensive linemen. Defensive end Chandler Jones finished the game with 2.5 sacks while defensive tackle Dominique Easley shared in the fun with a half of a sack as well. Also Jones and New England's other starting defensive end Rob Ninkovich also had their way with the Colts two offensive tackles on back to back plays in the fourth drawing two offensive holding penalties in a row. Ninkovich also forced a few more penalties on the night with his scrappy style of play.

Injuries Adding Up- After starting the week by losing starting left tackle Nate Solder for the season, then placing starting defensive back Tarell Brown on the Injured Reserve yesterday and being without starting linebacker Dont'a Hightower for tonight's game, things got worse for the Patriots on the injury front during the game. Early in the first quarter, Marcus Cannon, who replaced Solder in the starting lineup, left the game with a toe injury and never returned. Julian Edelman appeared to dislocate a finger on his first quarter touchdown catch and while he stayed in the game it seemed to affect his performance as the night went on. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard, who has looked great in the early going, was also taken out of the game midway through with an ankle injury and never returned to action. Finally, special teams captain and 4-time pro bowler Matthew Slater was injured late in the game while covering a punt. He needed assistance from his teammates to get off the field and appeared to be unable to put serious pressure on his knee. Patriots insider Mike Reiss also reported that Slater was taken off the field by cart after the team's win. Hopefully none of the injuries are serious, as each player will play a crucial role going forward.

All in all, the Patriots didn't win by the margin many people expected them to win by. In the end though, a win is what they got so it was a successful night. They'll play the New York Jets in New England next week in a big divisional match up. We'll see how healthy they come into next week's action.

To check out all the stats, click here.

To see first half thoughts, click here.