Four defensive turnovers highlighted a standout performance by the New England Patriots defense during Thursday night’s preseason opener tie against the Indianapolis Colts. The unit notched two interceptions and two forced fumbles in the 13-13 finish.
Two of the Patriots’ takeaways came in crucial moments during drives the Colts offense was threatening to score.
“I think they better have, or there would have been a lot more points that [Indianapolis] scored,” head coach Mike Vrabel said after Thursday’s game. “The turnovers are great, and I love us attacking the football and taking advantage of that.”
After progressing 52 yards in five plays to open the second quarter, the Colts ran a quarterback sneak with 6-foot-4, 244-pound Anthony Richardson at the one-yard line. Stepping up to the challenge, defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. punched the ball loose, ultimately ending up in the hands of safety Dell Pettus.
Both players were captains in a matchup where a majority of the starters rested.
While Vrabel still sees room for improvement, he acknowledged how drastically turnovers like Pharms’ can alter a contest’s outcome.
“Just a lot of things to clean up, but when you talk about the ability to create turnovers, it can change the game,” Vrabel added. “Just try to defend every blade of grass down there on the goal line, and come up with a big turnover there.”
On Indianapolis’ following drive, free-agency signing K.J. Britt — with Isaiah Iton recovering — forced another fumble on Richardson as the opposing signal-caller was scrambling into the red zone. A 27-yard punt return by Coleman Owen prior gave the Colts strong field positioning in their attempt to tie at seven apiece.
And in its efforts to prevent plays through the air, New England’s two interceptions both came during Indianapolis’ opening drives in each half.
Kindle Vildor, who was also a March signing, came away with a mishandled Richardson pass to the quarterback’s receiver in the flat early during the first frame. Furthermore, at the start of the second half, safety John Saunders Jr. jumped a deep ball from Riley Leonard intended for Eli Pancol on a skinny post.
Creating more takeaways has been a goal of the Patriots’ secondary throughout training camp.
Earlier this offseason, Pettus detailed a challenge that veteran safety Kevin Byard requested from the room after the defense had secured only one takeaway through the first six summer practices.
“After those first few practices, [Byard] brought us up, and he was like, ‘We need takeaways today,’” Pettus shared. “Before we went to any competitive team activity, he said, ‘We need more takeaways; we’re going to go out here and go get the football. Forget what everybody else is talking about; forget what the coaches talk about. This is our team. This is our defensive backfield.’ And like, it’s up to us to go get it, because the coaches can’t play for us. And I told him I thought that was great to hear just because he set the tone for us that day.”
Later that day, Pettus recorded the defense’s second interception of training camp.
That same emphasis on producing turnovers has now carried over from practice and into a game environment on Thursday.