Colts lead Patriots 7-3 at halftime in Germany
FRANKFURT, Germany (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts lead the New England Patriots 7-3 at halftime at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Patriots came out of the gates with one of their best opening drives of the season, quickly marching to the red zone, but the Colts’ defense tightened up when it mattered to force a 37-yard field goal.
Then, Gardner Minshew and the Colts’ offense went to work immediately on a long scoring drive.
Indianapolis went 14 plays, 75 yards, and scored the game’s first touchdown.
First, it was wide receiver Michael Pittman who took a screen pass to the one-yard line, and then Minshew tried his hand at a QB sneak.
After both plays ended short of the goal line, star running back Jonathan Taylor took an outside zone run into the end zone to take the 10-3 lead.
Seven straight punts occurred between the two teams, giving Indy the ball at the 20-yard line with just over a minute left in the half.
The offense quickly got to midfield before facing 4th down with 4 yards to go with 11 seconds left in the half.
Then Josh Downs, who played despite not practicing once this week, caught a quick slant for 12 yards to get the Colts into Matt Gay’s field goal range.
But he left the 57-yard field goal just shy of the crossbar.
A short pass completion from Patriots QB Mac Jones left the score at 7-3 heading into the locker room.
The Colts will receive the second-half kickoff.
Box Score
Garnder Minshew went 10 for 17 with 119 passing yards in the first half.
Mac Jones completed 10 of his 11 passes for 106 yards, but the Colts defense sacked him five times.
Jonathan Taylor took 13 carries for 41 rushing yards and the half’s only touchdown.
New England running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliot combined for 13 carries and 47 rushing yards, adding three combined catches for 28 receiving yards.
Michael Pittman caught four balls for 39 yards.
Colts WR Isaiah McKenzie had two catches for 34 yards.
Josh Downs had just one catch for 12 yards.
Patriots WR Demario Douglas caught three passes for 46 receiving yards.
RELATED COVERAGE
- Why getting to play in Germany means a lot to Colts OT Bernhard Raimann
- Colts’ Shaq Leonard still frustrated with lack of playing time
—
For more updates on the Colts throughout the season, follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, and on Facebook.