With the dust settling from a heartbreaking loss to the Colts, it still doesn't compute how the Patriots lost 25-24 to Indianapolis on Sunday.

New England out-gained the Colts (422 yards to 253), won the turnover battle, possessed the ball for 34:12, and only punted once. According to Boston Sports Info, teams that did the following were 72-0 in NFL history during the regular season: 24+ points, 200+ passing yards, 200+ rushing yards, one or fewer punts, and won the turnover battle. After the Patriots loss to the Colts, teams to meet those parameters are now 72-1.

The Patriots couldn't close a winnable game due to how they handled the end of the first half, a 2-for-6 showing in the red zone, and a 19-play, 80-yard game-winning drive by the Colts. Indy faced fourth down three times, scoring a touchdown on 4th-and-goal and converting a do-or-die two-point play for the win. Of the 388 NFL games this year, 307, or 79%, have been decided by eight points or less — the Patriots have to stop finding ways to lose close games. Full stop.

That said, while evaluating this game tape without the weekly referendum on head coach Jerod Mayo's in-game coaching, the takeaway from the Patriots offense was that it is more like it, Alex Van Pelt. We've gotten on Van Pelt at times for his lack of creative play designs and play-calling, and we still have a few gripes from Sunday, but the Patriots are building toward something here schematically with a highly capable rookie quarterback running the show.

Not to take away from giving Van Pelt his flowers, but the one caveat is that the Colts defense came into the week a very average 16th in DVOA with a scheme that's very beatable. Colts veteran DC Gus Bradley is predictable. He plays zone coverage at a league-high rate (86.9%), majoring in cover three zone (46.3%), to be specific. On Sunday, Bradley predictably played zone defense on 87.2% of Patriots QB Drake Maye's drop-backs with 22 plays in cover three. In other words, Bradley did what he always does, and to his credit, Van Pelt was ready.

In particular, the Patriots second-quarter touchdown drive, where they drove 70 yards on eight plays, was the cleanest sequence of offense New England has put on film all season.

After a great protection adjustment by Maye led to a 13-yard gain, the drive really got going. Above are back-to-back zone runs that gained 13 and 11 yards. The first one the Pats use jet motion to get the second level of the Colts defense to bump over a gap, setting up the blocking angles for NEP to pin down the defense for a nice cutback by RB Antonio Gibson. Then, AVP used rookie TE Jaheim Bell at fullback on a wide zone lead play: motion at the snap, incorporating Bell as a lead blocker, and back-to-back well-executed zone runs. Who is this offense?

Then, Maye capped off the drive with a big-time throw to TE Austin Hooper on a flood concept against a post-safety coverage in the high red zone. With the outside vertical route and the back in the flat, Hooper's corner route fills in the void along the sideline. Indy appears to be in a rare man coverage rep but the Pats win the chess match personnel-wise by getting the Colts into base defense, which gets Hooper matched up on a linebacker, and its six.

Along with a well-scripted touchdown drive in the second quarter, Van Pelt's opening script featured some neat play designs. The Pats OC installed a power-read shovel pass using explosive gadget player Marcus Jones as an option in the play. He also flooded short zones with a nice wheel-delay play that gained 11 yards, and the jet sweep to Kendrick Bourne with Jacoby Brissett as a threat on a quarterback sneak completely fooled the Colts defense. Plus, after clamoring for it all year, the Pats used motion at the snap 20 times, one off a season-high.

As for Maye, the Patriots rookie quarterback finished this game with 12 plus to 5.5 minus plays in my charting (see audio breakdown above). Maye's timing and anticipation improve every week, his mobility saved several covered plays and turned them into positive gains (41-yard run as the extreme example), and he's making high-level reads and checks to solve problems. Maye played a zone coverage scheme that forces quarterbacks to be patient and take profits rather than hunt big plays. The Pats rookie QB did that at a high level without committing a turnover-worthy play for the first time as a starter.

My only nitpicks for Van Pelt and Maye came in the red zone, where the Patriots stalled four times. Everyone is on Van Pelt for running too much in the red area, and I didn't love the two runs before the half, either. There were also two drop-back concepts that were iffy calls based on the coverage. For Maye, the interception falls partially on him for placing the ball inside rather than on Henry's numbers, while there were a few instances where he passed up some NFL-sized windows from inside the 20. He might need to be more aggressive and a tick faster through his reads, which is common for young quarterbacks working in the red zone.

Overall, this was a huge step forward for an offense that set a season-high in total yards (422) and expected points added (12.2) vs. the Colts. Now that Maye is getting comfortable and they're adding in more scheme-aided layups, there's something brewing here for this offense.

Here is a review of the Patriots defense and quick-hit film notes from Sunday's loss to the Colts After Further Review.

Defense Review: Patriots Defense Struggles to Get Colts Into Obvious Passing Situations

Entering the game, the number one objective for the Patriots defense was forcing Colts QB Anthony Richardson to beat them with his arm in the drop-back passing game.

Speaking to Patriots.com, one starter on the Pats defense said they knew they were facing a "college" offense vs. the Colts and their second-year quarterback. New England anticipated seeing a heavy dosage of read options, RPOs, designed quarterback runs, and play-action concepts to lighten the mental load on Richardson. Still, they didn't have answers.

The Pats didn't put Richardson in obvious passing situations often enough. For example, Indy faced 16 third and fourth downs including plays with penalties. Of those 16 plays, 11 were third-and-short (0-3 yards). Here were the yards to go on Indy's late-down plays: one, one, one, one, two, two, two, two, two, three, three, six, nine, 10, 12, and 12. When they faced six yards or more to go on late downs, the Colts went 0-for-6, compared to 8-for-10 on short late downs.

When you're in third or fourth-and-short 68.8% of the time, those are disadvantageous situations for the defense against a dual-threat quarterback where running the ball is still on the menu. Despite a rushing long of just 13 yards, Indy added +0.18 EPA rush with 19 successful runs; the Patriots defense couldn't get the Colts offense off schedule.

As a drop-back passer, Richardson added a below-average +0.06 expected points per drop-back (47th percentile), completing only 50% of his passes for 109 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two picks. In Week 13, Richardson ranked 22nd among 31 quarterbacks in completion percentage over expectation (CPOE). Two key drops hurt him, but this was far from great passing film for the former fourth-overall pick.

The numbers show that the Pats won downs where they had the Colts in obvious passing situations. Above, the Pats play a robber (man) coverage on third-and-12. They get interior pressure from Keion White while S Brenden Schooler plays the robber/spy role to force Richardson into a throw, and CB Alex Austin breaks up the pass – that's how the Patriots wanted to play defense on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the early-down defense was too inconsistent to force Richardson to beat them as a pocket passer. For example, Indy's opening script is one the Pats should've predicted: seven-yard completion on a perimeter screen, nine-yard run on power-read (Taylor), 11-yard run on inverted power-read (Richardson), 22-yard completion on a play-action concept (Richardson to Ogletree) – down to the NE 22 without facing third down.

Once they got into scoring territory, another three-play sequence became the norm: four-yard Taylor run on RPO, five-yard Taylor run on wham play, six-yard Taylor RPO run to move the chains on third-and-1. Again, they never gave themselves a chance to get off the field.

To cap off the opening drive with a touchdown on the ensuing first down, the Colts went up-tempo to stress the Patriots pre-snap communication. Indy snapped the ball 1.1 seconds after huddling, and the Pats never got their ducks in a row to sort out Indy's unique four-by-one formation. New England couldn't get on the same page quickly enough, leaving Taylor uncovered for a touchdown on an 8-play, 71-yard scoring drive.

The Colts opening drive set the table for how the rest of the game went for the Patriots defense. By my count, Indy ran versions of their power-read and QB sweep concepts repeatedly, including on the two-point conversion that won the game for the Colts (power read).

After 13 weeks of reviewing film, it has become clear that the Patriots front seven is as big a weakness on their roster. New England's run defense, which now ranks 28th in DVOA, struggles to defeat blocks and play assignment sound with their run fits. The Pats are also 27th in team pressure rate (30.3%), and opposing offenses plan to target their linebackers in pass coverage every week.

The Patriots have a building block to construct the secondary round in second-year CB Christian Gonzalez. Hopefully, They'll have a fully healthy Christian Barmore and Ja'Whaun Bentley back next season to upgrade the front seven. However, adding talent to the front seven is creeping toward the top of personnel chief Eliot Wolf's offseason to-do list.

Quick-Hit Film Notes From Patriots-Colts After Further Review

Offense

- One last niptick of Van Pelt: the Pats final third-down play where Maye was sacked had TE Hunter Henry blocking Colts pass-rusher Laiatu Latu on an island in a seven-man protection vs. five pass-rushers. Stevenson could've helped Henry more, but putting Henry in that position on a big third down seemed unnecessary.

- RB Rhamondre Stevenson is in a late-season rut. Stevenson got the yards that were there on a perfectly blocked 32-yard trap run on the Patriots opening drive and danced out of a TFL to turn a loss into a three-yard gain. However, he had five minus reads on his 18 carries and he fumbled for the sixth time this season. Stevenson doesn't seem to be gelling with the new system. He is failing to see cutback lanes developing and looks indecisive in a scheme that needs him to be a one-cut-and-go runner. In particular, he missed two cutback lanes on pin-pull schemes where he could've gotten chunks. Rhamondre is a good back but they need to figure it out with him in this offense.

- RB Antonio Gibson was the Patriots best runner once again with runs of 13 yards, 11 yards, 15 yards, and an 11-yard touchdown run where he had just a 2% chance of scoring a TD. He has a much better feel for his blocking on wide zone, makes quick and bursty cuts, and added 50 yards after contact with seven forced missed tackles. The opposite performance compared to Stevenson. Gibson should at least be splitting the early-down carries at this point.

- Rookie LG Layden Robinson allowed four quarterback pressures with two holds. His physicality was on film in the run game, where he has some pop as a puller and can generate movement on double teams. But the pass pro tape remains inconsistent. Robinson had issues with post-snap movement on two pressures and lost one-on-one to Buckner and Odeyingbo. Overall, he stayed afloat, so that was a good sign. Still, my guess is the film session with coaches will have plenty of corrections for Robinson this week.

- C Ben Brown didn't play like a guy ready to turn his job over to Cole Strange yet. Although he wasn't tested much, Brown had a clean sheet on nine one-on-ones and had some standout run blocks. His reach/combo on Gibson's 15-yard run to get the Pats back start was excellent stuff. It's not a sure thing, based on the film, that Brown should be benched for Strange.

- RG Mike Onwenu allowed a sack on an extended drop-back (5.1s), got called for a hold that wiped out a TD, and wasn't on the same page as the rest of the line on a third-and-1 stuff. Maye might've snapped the ball too quickly after checking into a different run, but the rest of the line got the message. That said, Onwenu also drew the much tougher assignments with the Pats sending the center toward Robinson most of the game, leaving Onwenu one-on-one 11 times with DeForest Buckner, where he allowed just two pressures. Overall, Onwenu needs to clean up the mental errors/penalties, but that's a pretty solid day against an elite pass-rusher.

- LT Vederian Lowe was solid once again. He got called for a hold when Maye left the pocket, which happens, while allowing just one hurry when he got matched up with Buckner. Lowe did not grade out well by PFF as a run-blocker (41.6), but I didn't see it that way. I thought Lowe had a solid all-around game and had zero procedural penalties after the issues in Miami.

- RT Trey Jacobs had some late losses where rushers were corning him right on the line of being a pressure, but he held on long enough to mostly give his QB a chance and was physical in the run game. Jacobs is limited on an island in pass pro but could be a capable backup.

- Rookie WR Ja'Lynn Polk had another debatable route where he ran the juke series as the No. 3 in HOSS Juke vs. zone coverage. The receiver is usually supposed to sit vs. zone in that instance, so when Polk broke outside, he wasn't where Maye expected him to be.

- TE Hunter Henry will want the interception back as he had his hands on the pass but I put that more on Maye for throwing too far inside his tight end. Henry was reliable besides that play. The duo's chemistry on outs/sticks is fun to watch. Just great trust and anticipation between the two.

- TE Austin Hooper caved in two Colts defenders on Steenson's 32-yard run with a monster block, and his high-point grab on his 16-yard touchdown was a great catch. The Pats veteran tight ends aren't explosive after the catch but they're a rookie QB's best friend because they're reliable targets who run the right routes and mostly have great hands.

- WR Kayshon Boutte was mostly effective in this game, finding space against a zone-dropper on a 29-yard gain and had two quick-game catches on free access outs. I did think he could've settled into space a little better on one missed throw over the middle, though.

- QB Pressures: Robinson (four hurries), Onwenu (sack, hurry), Lowe (hurry), Jacobs (hurry), Henry (hurry), Brown (clean sheet).

Defense

- CB Christian Gonzalez continues to play at a Pro Bowl level. Gonzo always had the cover talent, but the year-two leap into elite status is here because the Pats CB is starting to anticipate routes and learn as games wear on to turn tight coverage into impact plays on the ball.

For example, Colts WR Alec Pierce ran an in-breaking route on Gonzo earlier in the game where Pierce's pacing and "stair" step to re-stem the route created separation. Later on, Pierce ran the same route again. This time, Gonzalez recognized Pierce's route detail, trusted his instincts that it was the same route, and drove underneath the pass for an interception.

What separates the great corner from the elite ones isn't necessarily talent. Instead, it's the ability to read routes based on game situation, receiver alignment, situational tendencies, and route tells. Gonzalez is taking that next step to where he's downloading info into the computer, and when it comes up later, he's a step ahead of the receiver. That's next-level CB play.

- CB Alex Austin also had impressive film in this one with three high-level coverage reps. Austin had a third-down pass breakup where he similarly drove a crosser in man coverage, played with great cover-three technique to pick up the crosser from the opposite side of the formation, and played the deep post beautifully in a quarters technique to log another PBU. Both the receiver and Austin were jostling for position on his DPI, and unfortunately, that usually goes against the defensive player. Austin has earned more playing time as an outside corner, which is an area of need to get the right body type on the perimeter opposite Gonzalez.

- CB Marcus Jones was highly competitive in coverage, causing incompletions on all three plays he was targeted. Jones had tight coverage on Adonai Mitchell in the end zone for a PBU and recovered well to Mitchell's vertical route to contest another catch. FWIW, PFF gave Mitchell a drop on that play, but to Jones's credit, he played the catch point well to make it a grab through contact that Mitchell couldn't haul in.

- DT Christian Barmore had flashes in the run game where he looked like his old self. Barmore had a great run stuff in the fourth quarter where he discarded the right tackle and brought down Taylor, plugged two gaps on the line of scrimmage to contribute to another stuff (4th QTR, 55 secs), and was absolutely held/chop-blocked on the two-point conversion. Barmore also hurried Richardson into a quicker throw than the scheme intended on Christian Elliss's INT. The lone blemish was five one-on-one reps vs. LG Quenton Nelson, including on the game-winning touchdown, where Barmore couldn't beat Indy's three-time All-Pro guard. That's a heavyweight matchup, and there's no shame in losing to Nelson, but Barmore can win those reps.

- S Kyle Dugger's struggles weren't as apparent as last week's performance in Miami. However, he did not grade out well again in my review. Dugger was sealed off the edge on an 11-yard run, was in the mix on another red-zone coverage bust for a touchdown, got cracked blocked on the 4th-and-2 crack sweep late, got beat by Kylen Granson up the seam for what should've been a big play (drop), and was late to diagnose the route on the game-winning TD. Dugger's struggles seem more mental than physical.

- The Patriots mostly used DE Keion White as a "read" defender on the end of the line of scrimmage while sometimes removing him from early-down run situations all together. White's tweener skillset can lead to some matchup issues against downhill run teams. But he still made his presence felt with two hurries, including a key third-down pressure and a run stuff.

- NT Davon Godchaux got keyed by the Colts in the interior run game. They pinned him, whamed him, ran outside the tackles, and only trusted Nelson to block him one-on-one. It was a down game for Godchaux (zero stuffs), but he was accounted for in Indy's game plan.

- The D-Line needs to do a better job of occupying blocks to keep the second level clean, but there's not enough of a downhill trigger from the Pats linebackers vs. the run, either. There's too much horizontal movement or being the nail rather than the hammer on downhill runs. It also looks like they're trying to scan multiple gaps rather than plugging a gap on the line of scrimmage. The coaching might be able to help simplify things by allowing them to trigger downhill faster rather than play multiple gaps. There are not enough impactful plays in the backfield from the first two levels of the defense, allowing the offense to stay on schedule.

- S Jabrill Peppers was solid in his return with two run stuffs, a hurry, and a nice coverage rep on the Pats lone red zone stop (third-and-6 mesh concept). However, one would assume that Peppers at his best would've had a better blitz vs. Richardson on the 4th-and-3 play with 3:33 left. Peppers looked a step slow on that play, which is unusual for him.

- QB Pressures: White (two hurries), Elliss (QB hit), Ngakoue (QB hit), Pharms (hurry), Barmore (hurry), Ekuale (hurry), Johnson (hurry), Peppers (hurry). Run stuffs: Dugger (2), Ekuale (2), Peppers (2), Ngakoue (2), six w/one (Gonzalez, Pettus, Barmore, White, M. Jones, Jennings).

- Coverage: Hawkins (2/2/33 yards), Gonzalez (5/3/23 yards/INT), Austin (6/2/16 yards/2 PBUs), Tavai (1/1/13 yards/PBU), Dugger (4/2/10 yards/TD), Peppers (1/1/7 yards), J. Jones (1/1/7 yards), M. Jones (3/0/0/PBU), Schooler (1/0/0), team (coverage bust TD).

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer