Patriots news and notes for a throwback weekend against the Colts
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts on what will be a throwback Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will be in their red and white "Pat Patriot" getup for the second time this season when the Colts come to town for a Week 13 showdown.
While the team looks slick in those unis and fans go absolutely bananas for them, the Patriots haven't had much success in their throwback garbs as of late. After winning their first seven games in those unis from 1994-2022, the Patriots have since dropped four straight in their throwbacks. The last time New England won a game in their Pat Patriot look was a 29-0 win over the Detroit Lions in October of 2022.
Drake Maye made his first career start for the Patriots in those throwbacks back in Week 6, but the team lost to the Houston Texans, 41-21. The Patriots lost both throwback games last season, losing 6-0 to the L.A. Chargers and 24-17 to the Miami Dolphins.
They'll look to change those fortunes against a 5-7 Colts team that is still on the edge of the postseason picture despite losing three of their last four games. The Colts are still flirting with a AFC Wild Card spot, and are just two games back of the Texans in the AFC South.
Here's what you need to know about Sunday's Patriots-Colts clash at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots vs. Colts
- This is the fourth straight season that the Patriots will play the Colts, with New England going 1-2 against Indy over the last three seasons. Last season, the Patriots "hosted" the Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, and suffered a brutal 10-6 defeat. New England won a home game against the Colts in 2022, 26-3, but lost in Indianapolis, 27-17, during the 2021 season.
- Prior to their loss to the Colts in 2021, the Patriots had won seven straight regular season games over Indianapolis.
- Sunday's game will be the 85th meeting between the Patriots and the Colts, with New England holding a 49-30 edge in the regular season and a 4-1 advantage in the postseason. Three of those five playoff meetings came in the AFC Championship Game, with the Patriots going 2-1 in those contests.
- The Patriots are 31-11 against the Colts in Foxboro.
- Following last week's loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots rank last in the NFL in total offense (280.2 yards per game), and passing offense (167.3 yards per game) and rank 31st in scoring offense (16.4 points per game). The Colts aren't all that great either, ranking 22nd in total offense (316.3 yards per game), 24th in passing offense (199.7 yards per game), and 21st in scoring (20.2 points per game).
- Both teams were hit with 10 accepted penalties for 75 yards in Week 12. The Patriots are sixth in the NFL with 81 accepted penalties against them, while the Colts are 16th with 70 accepted penalties against.
Patriots-Colts Connections
- There are four former Colts on the Patriots roster: quarterback Jacoby Brissett (2017-20), defensive tackle Eric Johnson (2022-23), linebacker Titus Leo (2023), and linebacker Yannick Ngakoue (2022).
- Former Patriots Atonio Mafi (2023) and Cameron McGrone (2021-22) are currently on the Colts, but both have only taken special teams snaps this season.
- Receiver Josh Downs is in his second season with the Colts, but he was Drake Maye's top target at UNC in 2022 when the quarterback won ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors.
- Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter were teammates in college at Tennessee in 2005.
Other Patriots-Colts Week 13 fun facts
- The Patriots scored their first defensive touchdown of the season last week when Christian Gonzalez returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. If New England scores another defensive touchdown this week, it will be the first time the team does so in back-to-back games since the 2022 season.
- If Gonzalez scores another defensive touchdown against the Colts, he'll be the first Patriots player to do so in back-to-back games since linebacker Vincent Brown in 1992. The last NFL player with a defensive score in back-to-back weeks was former Patriots corner Jack Jones, who did it for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.
- Rhamondre Stevenson needs just 55 rushing yards to move into 10th place on New England's all-time rushing list.
- Drake Maye is currently averaging 8.7 yards per rush attempt, picking up 286 yards on his 33 attempts. The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season was the 8.5 yards that Michael Vick averaged for the Falcons in 2006.
- Marcus Jones is averaging 15.2 yards per punt return this season to lead the NFL. Jones has racked up 349 yards on his 23 returns this season.
- Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has 239 yards in his two games against the Patriots. New England held him to just 69 yards on 23 carries last season, but he torched the Pats for 170 yards in a Week 15 Colts win in Indy in 2021.
- Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson has completed just 47 percent of his passes this season. He connected on just 11 of his 28 passes in last week's loss to the Detroit Lions, and has completed more than 42 percent of his passes just once in his last four games.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Colts matchup on WBZ-TV -- the flagship station of the New England Patriots! We'll get you Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV and streaming online at CBSBoston.com! After the game, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!