FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick tipped his cap to the Indianapolis Colts’ run defense with a straight face Wednesday morning.
Belichick listed the Colts’ run defense, which has allowed 657 yards and 13 touchdowns on 130 carries in their last three matchups with the New England Patriots, as one of Indianapolis’ strengths.
“They’re leading the leading the league in negative plays against the run,” Belichick said. “They’ve done a good job.”
Belichick is on to something. The Colts lead the NFL in tackles for loss in the run game with 28. The Patriots, one of six teams that have sat out on a bye week, are last in the NFL with seven negative plays against the run, and they rank 31st in tackles for loss against the run per game.
The Colts are allowing just 3.8 yards per carry — to the Patriots’ 4.7 — but both teams are letting up 112 rushing yards per game.
The Colts improved their run defense by selecting defensive end Henry Anderson in the third round and defensive tackle David Parry in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft and signing defensive end Kendall Langford as a free agent. Anderson leads the team with five tackles for loss.
“Parry plays primarily on the nose and Anderson primarily plays three-technique, also plays on the tackle,” Belichick said. “Anderson is really long, about 6-foot-5. He’s got good playing strength, tough guy. Parry’s a nose tackle. He’s really stout inside. He’s got good playing strength.”
What the Patriots lack against the run, they make up for with negative defensive passing plays. The Patriots are second in the NFL, despite their bye, with 20 tackles for loss, including 16 sacks, against the pass. The Colts’ pass defense ranks second to last with just seven negative plays, including five sacks.
The Colts are allowing a fifth-worst 286.8 passing yards per game and seventh-worst 7.8 yards per attempt. The Patriots rank 11th in passing yards allowed per game with 229.8 and 16th with 7.3 yards per attempt.
So, don’t expect any Patriots running backs to repeat Jonas Gray’s performance against the Colts from last November, when he carried the ball 37 times for 201 yards with four touchdowns, but quarterback Tom Brady could have a field day Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
