FOXBORO, Mass. – They were as decimated by injuries as they’ve been in a decade, trying to win in a stadium they haven’t in 12 years, limping into the house of the longtime league bullies without much of a puncher’s chance.
It started just like everyone expected. Three hours later, it finished the same way.
But give them this: In between the bad start and the lifeless finish, these ridiculously damaged Indianapolis Colts pulled together a stirring rally, salvaged some pride and saved some face. What looked to be the routine beatdown at the hands of their old rival, the New England Patriots, grew tight and tense before Tom Brady and Co.