It's a 60 Minute Game

Congrats to the Patriots on playing hard for all 60 minutes and finding a way to win. Obviously, this wasn't the way either team drew up the game, but I think it's indicative of what I wrote about in a previous post: The team is bigger than any individual.

The team played great complimentary and situational football. While most pundits will talk about the Patriots offensive comeback, don't overlook the outstanding special teams play (Wes Welker's punt return to set up the winning drive is one of many great plays) as well as the tremendous defensive effort. The Patriots defense made some bad plays, but when they were put in bad situations they responded. It's great to see New England play championship level defense when the game was on the line.

I would hope that this win caused critics of Coach Belichick and the Patriots to look at them in a more positive light.

Finally, I think it's pretty clear that the Indianapolis Colts deserve a ton of recognition for their effort. They slowed down an offense that no other team really has, and they did it by playing great team defense. It's clear these teams will meet again - barring injuries or a major shake-up - and I think you can attribute both franchises' high level of performance to their trust in one another and willingness to sacrifice for the team.

The Patriots and Colts proved Sunday that the tired clichés are still true. That's the real story from Week Nine.