in the Patriots loss to the Colts last night:
we know exactly what happened: Jabar Gaffney dropped an easy touchdown pass; David Thomas was called for a costly penalty; Bill Belichick personally cost his team not one timeout, but two, the second of which negated the conversion of a fourth and 1 at the Colts 7-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter.
But beyond that, the Patriots had the perfect game plan and generally executed it with astonishing precision, and there were more reasons to be encouraged than discouraged.
So the Patriots held the ball for 34 minutes, 24 seconds. So they ran 67 offensive plays to the Colts' 50. So they rushed for 140 yards and averaged 4.4 yards a carry. So they made their kicks. So they protected the ball. So they gave themselves a chance against an accomplished team, quarterback, and coach, on the road, as the 2008 NFL season reached its midpoint.
So they lost. So what? The gains of this game far outweighed the losses because the Patriots last night showed us that they are getting better, which suddenly makes the second half of this season far more interesting than we might have guessed after the team's 16th offensive play on back on Sept. 7, otherwise known as The Moment Everything Changed.
I was thinking the same thing watching the game. This team could win a playoff game. Maybe more than one.
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