The Indianapolis Colts' defense knows its No. 1 priority Sunday against the New England Patriots will be stopping the run.
In their Week 11 matchup, Patriots running back Jonas Graypulverized a limp Colts defense for 201 yards; the team went for 246 on the ground; and New England galloped to a 42-20 road victory.
"There's no way we don't know who their running backs are," defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said, per ESPN.com. "We have statistics of their running backs very well. We know what we have to do in this game. We have to stop their running game. It's a must. It's like the Denver game, if we didn't stop the running game, it's hard as hell to stop a team that can run and pass the ball."
The Pats' Week 11 performance was so overwhelming, even Weezer got hot again.
In Saturday's victory against the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots eschewed the run, totaling just 14 yards. But Bill Belichick is the best at what he does because he can change gears week to week. He pegged a Colts weakness in their last meeting and pummeled it with heavy sets and extra offensive linemen. This time around it will likely be LeGarrette Blount doing most of the damage.Â
Indy's run defense has improved the last several weeks, thanks in part to a healthier Arthur Jones. They held Broncos back C.J. Anderson to 80 yards Sunday and allowed just 76 yards to Bengals running backs in Wild Card Weekend.
"As a defensive player, you don't want to ever have that happen again," Colts lineman Cory Redding said of the Week 11 performance. "We didn't have our best game. It's up to us to do what we've done the past few weeks, to make sure that never happens again."
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