Colts stun Patriots with last-minute 25-24 win off two-point conversion

FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots found a new way to lose on Sunday, falling to the Indianapolis Colts on a last-minute touchdown and two-point conversion at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots lost, 25-24, on Anthony Richardson's two-point conversion and are now 3-10 on the season.

Indianapolis got the ball back trailing 24-17 with 5:34 left, and went on a 19-play, 80-yard drive to steal a victory from the Patriots. The Colts converted twice on fourth down, including a fourth-and-goal when Richardson hit Alec Pierce for a 3-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left. The quarterback then plowed through the New England defense on the two-point try to give the Colts the win and keep their postseason hopes alive.

The Patriots tried a 68-yard field goal from Joey Slye with one second left, but his attempt came up just short.

It was a shocking result for the Patriots, who will now head into their bye week. While no one was expecting a playoff run from New England, the Patriots were officially eliminated from the postseason with Sunday's loss.

Drake Maye had another incredibly solid day and was surgical at times as he completed 24 of his 30 passes for 238 yards and a second-quarter touchdown pass to Austin Hooper. The rookie quarterback also scrambled for 59 yards on five attempts, including a 41-yarder early in the contest.

"Heartbreaking," Maye said after the loss. "Proud of the way the guys fought. I'm proud of the defense. I thought they played their butts off. Especially our guys up front on offense, they did a great job. I think we ran the football for a bunch of yards. I think we were efficient in the passing game, and just came up short. It's a bummer. I hate it for these guys, and I hate it for these coaches. We're practicing hard. We're fighting hard, and just came up short."

The Patriots offense put up some solid numbers on Sunday, racking up 422 total yards (222 through the air and 200 on the ground). But they were just 2-for-6 in the red zone, and settled for field goals far too often.

The defense had some highlights, but they struggled on third down (Indy went 5-for-11) and let the Colts go a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth down. The Colts also went 3-for-4 in the red zone, which ended up being the difference in this one.

"We just need to be more consistent. It's about us," head coach Jerod Mayo said after the defeat. "Penalties continue to show up, both operational and post-snap. Our red area offense, our red area defense -- we weren't able to stop them. And that's really the game."

"We can't settle for four field goals in the red zone and expect to win a game," added Maye.

How the Patriots lost to the Colts

Missed opportunities were the biggest downfall for the Patriots on Sunday. They got to the Indy 7 on their opening drive, but then moved backwards when Maye was sacked on third-and-goal and settled for a Joey Slye field goal. The Colts did no settling on their opening drive, marching 71 yards downfield on just eight plays as the New England defense provided very little resistance.

Taylor ran for 24 yards on four carries while Richardson competed all three of his passes for 37 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Taylor where the Patriots had another coverage breakdown in the red zone. Taylor was wide open on the play and made a nice move to get the ball over the pylon before stepping out of bounds to give the Colts a 7-3 lead.

Maye broke off a 41-yard scramble on the second play of New England's next drive, but things stalled out in the red zone again. A Rhamondre Stevenson 2-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation was taken off the board because of a hold on Mike Onwenu, and a hold by Layden Robinson on the very next play moved the Patriots back another 10 yards. They settled for another Slye field goal to make it a 7-6 game.

The Patriots' defense got its first interception since Week 9 in Tennessee on Indy's next possession, when Richardson's pass to Michael Pittman was tipped by Jahlani Tavai and came down in the arms of Christian Elliss. That gave the Patriots the ball at the Indianapolis 42.

But they ended up settling for a 54-yard Slye field goal on that possession, and then Taylor made up for his interception by capping off an 8-play, 70-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown scamper to give the Colts a 14-9 lead early in the second quarter.

New England answered with an 8-play, 70-yard touchdown drive of its own. Maye was a perfect 5-for-5 for 45 yards on the drive, and threw a dime to Austin Hooper for a 16-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 16-14 edge with four minutes to go in the first half.

The New England defense then forced a three-and-out, with Alex Austin breaking up a pass to Pittman for the team's first third-down stop of the day. Maye got the ball back with just under three minutes left in the half, but the Pats came away empty when Slye missed a 25-yard attempt wide left. Really, really wide left.

The Colts had no trouble marching down the field on their first possession of the second half, taking 7:34 off the clock thanks to 44 rushing yards by Taylor and an 11-yard scamper by Richardson. But the drive stalled in the red zone as the New England D locked in, and the Colts settled for a field goal after Marcus Jones broke up a pass to Adonai Mitchell in the end zone. Matt Gay's 25-yarder put Indianapolis on top, 17-16, midway through the third quarter. 

The Patriots moved downfield thanks to a 15-yard run by Antonio Gibson and a 12-yard connection between Maye and Henry on a third-and-6, but the drive ended with another red zone turnover. Maye went looking for Henry on second-and-3 from the Indy 7, but the tight end bobbled the ball and it rolled off Henry and into the hands of Colts safety Julian Blackmon. It was an unfortunate and sudden turn of events for New England. 

While that turnover was on Henry, it marked the fifth straight game that Maye has thrown an interception. 

The defense forced a punt to get Maye and the offense the ball back, and the Patriots didn't let another red zone penalty derail the drive. After an illegal shift on DeMario Douglas took a Maye-to-Bourne touchdown off the board, Gibson ran it in from 11 yards out for his first touchdown of the year. Maye hit Kayshon Boutte for the two-point conversion, and the Patriots took a 24-17 lead with 8:43 left in the game.

A few plays later, Gonzalez undercut a route by Pierce and came up with his second interception of the season to give New England the ball near midfield with eight minutes to play. But the Patriots offense went three-and-out and had to punt for the first time of the day, giving the ball back to Indianapolis with 5:34 remaining.

The Colts converted a fourth-and-3 (an 11-yard connection between Richardson and Mo Allie-Cox) to keep their hopes alive, before the Patriots got big defensive plays from corners Alex Austin and Marcus Jones, both of whom broke up deep passes downfield.  Jones' PBU set up Indy with a fourth-and-2 at the New England 41 out of the two-minute warning, but Richardson ran for six yards to keep Indy going. 

It all went downhill for the Patriots from there. Austin was flagged for defensive pass interference on a third-down incomplete to Pittman, which set up a dramatic finish to regulation. The Colts got down to the New England 2 on a first-and-goal scramble by Richardson, before the QB was stuffed at the line on second-and-goal. Gonzalez knocked Taylor out of bounds on a run to the right for a one-yard loss on third-and-goal, giving the Colts one final chance with 17 seconds left.

Richardson made the most of that chance, hitting Pierce on a slant for a 3-yard touchdown with 12 remaining. Shane Steichen  kept his offense on the field and went for two and the win on the road, and it paid off as Richardson plowed into the end zone to give Indy a 25-24 victory. The Colts are now 6-7 on the season and remain in the mix for an AFC Wild Card spot.

 The Patriots should have won Sunday's game, but are once again looking for answers after a close loss.

What's next for the Patriots?

The Patriots will now get a much-needed week off as they head into their bye. Mayo and players will chat with reporters on Monday, and the team will have its only practice of the week on Tuesday.

Players will then be off from Wednesday until Sunday, and return to work on Monday to get ready for a Week 14 tilt against the Cardinals in Arizona.

There are no soft spots in the schedule the rest of the way for New England. After Arizona, the Pats head to Buffalo to play the AFC East-leading Bills in their final road game of the season. They'll then host the L.A. Chargers and the Bills to close out the 2024 campaign. 

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