The New England Patriots shut down the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Gillette Stadium to improve to a 5-4 record. That’s above .500, for the mathematically inclined. A nice way to enter the bye week after an up and down first half of the season. The Colts headed back to Indiana with a losing 3-5-1 record.

How did it happen?

The Patriots secured their fifth win on the back of a superlative defense, which terrorized rookie QB Sam Ehlinger all day to the tune of nine sacks. LB Matt Judon was a star, as he has been all season, with three sacks. But contributions poured in all around, including a second hat-trick of sacks from LB Joshua Uche.

The defensive fireworks behind the line of scrimmage paired nicely with suffocating coverage in the secondary. CB Jonathan Jones delivered the morale killing plays to punctuate New England dominance early (a blocked punt in the second quarter) and seal the win late (a pick-6 in the fourth quarter). 

Meanwhile the Mac Attack fizzled on offense (147 yards, 1 TD). Credit the second-year QB with no interceptions and a game managing-style that was clearly good enough to win. It was the kicker Nick Folk, though, who seemed the Patriot’s most reliable points producer. New England’s drives kept sputtering to a halt, leaving the kicker to clean up with a perfect 4 out of 4. There’s no quarterback controversy to speak of, and a win’s a win, but you couldn’t watch the game without the occasional cringe. Then again, the Patriots could be starting Sam Ehlinger.

What’s on the agenda for bye week?

Rest.

Heal. It would be fantastic to have a healthy and rested RB Damien Harris back for Week 11. RB Rhamondre Stevenson has been playing out of his mind. But the season is long and the team needs talent like Harris back in the line-up.

Fix. By most accounts the offensive line needs fixing. QB Jones is taking too many sacks and too many pressures. The coaching staff has tried to solve the problem by benching the players who are underperforming (Isaiah Wynn, Cole Strange) and crossing its fingers that the next man up will be better. But there’s not enough roster depth in terms of health or talent to keep playing musical chairs. If the team can play around with schemes in the bye week to shore up weaknesses along the line, or at least mask them, the Patriots can be more competitive in the second half of the season.

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