Patriots-Colts Week 9 news, notes, and fun facts

FOXBORO -- The Patriots seemingly saved their season with a huge road victory over the Jets last Sunday, improving to 4-4 on the year. Now they welcome the 3-4-1 Indianapolis Colts to Gillette Stadium with a chance to get above .500 for the first time in 2022.

This one certainly doesn't carry the weight of those incredible Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning matchups of yesteryear. Mac Jones is still trying to find his way in his second NFL season, and Sam Ehlinger is set to make his second career start for the Colts on Sunday.

Both teams could use a win this weekend, and the Pats will be gunning for some revenge after their 27-17 loss in Indianapolis last season snapped a seven-game win streak. Here's what you need to know heading into Sunday's tilt at Gillette Stadium.

Week 9 Notes

• The Patriots and the Colts have been going at it for a while, whether it was the old Baltimore Colts or the Indianapolis iteration of the team. This weekend will be the 83rd meeting between the two franchises, with the Patriots leading the series 48-29 during regular season action and 4-1 in the playoffs.
• New England had an eight-game win streak over the Colts snapped last season, when the Pats lost 27-17 in Indy. 
• That loss also snapped nine straight games in which the Patriots had scored at least 30 points against the Colts. The Patriots averaged 39.7 points per game against Indianapolis over that stretch.
• The Patriots are 30-12 against the Colts at home.
• The Colts rank 18th in the NFL in total offense heading into Week 9, averaging 33.94 yards per game. The Patriots rank 20th at 334.5 yards per game. But the New England offense is 17th in the NFL averaging 22.1 points per game, while Indianapolis is 30th at 16.1 points per game.
• The Colts rank 31st in the NFL with a minus-eight turnover differential. The Patriots are even in the turnover department, tied for 15th in the league.

Player Notes

• After picking off two passes against the Jets last weekend, Devin McCourty has 39 takeaways for his career. With one more, he'll become just the fourth Patriots player to hit 40 takeaways, joining Ty Law (40), Fred Marion (42), and Raymond Clayborn (44). 
• Matthew Judon is tied with Minnesota's Za'Darius Smith for the league-lead in sacks with 8.5 on the season.
• Rookie Marcus Jones is second in the NFL with 448 total return yards (140 punt return yards, 308 kickoff return yards). His 23.7-yard average on kickoff returns is also good for second in the league. 
• Kicker Nick Folk has booted 91 field goals with the Patriots and needs just three more to move past Tony Franklin for the fifth-most in franchise history.

Connections

• Bill Belichick started his NFL coaching career as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975.
• Current Patriots defensive linemen Carl Davis Jr. (2019) and Lawrence Guy (2012-13) previously spent time with the Colts.
• Stephon Gilmore, who won a Super Bowl ring with New England and was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year while with the Patriots in 2019, is now the top guy in the Indianapolis secondary.
• Indianapolis defensive tackle Byron Cowart was originally a fifth-round pick by the Patriots in 2019.
• Colts special teams coordinator Raymond "Bubba" Ventrone had two stints with the Patriots after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He spent his rookie season on the New England practice squad, and then returned in 2007, bouncing around from the practice squad to the active roster. He played 15 games in 2008, filling an important role on the New England special teams. He was an assistant special teams coach for the Patriots from 2015-17 before joining the Colts staff in 2018.

WBZ-TV has you covered for Sunday's Patriots-Colts game! Pregame coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, with the Pats and the Colts set to kick things off at 1 p.m. After the game, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!