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INDIANAPOLIS -- There actually is an explanation.

You might not agree that Bill Belichick's decision was justified or even logical by lobotomized standards, but there was a reason he astonished us all Sunday night.

Common sense dictated the New England Patriots punt. They faced a fourth-and-2 situation from their own 28-yard line with 2 minutes, 8 seconds to play. They were ahead of the Indianapolis Colts by six points.

But Belichick defied convention. That's what geniuses do sometimes. They'll try some crazy maneuver every now and then. Belichick saw this as the perfect moment.

He called a timeout to shoo his punt unit off the field. He sent his offense back to the field. Surely, Belichick ordered Tom Brady to induce the Colts to jump offside with a hard count and some wild hand gesticulations.

There was no way the Patriots were going to snap it, right?

Then the ball soared between center Dan Koppen's knees. The play was live. This was it, do or die. Brady threw to his right to running back Kevin Faulk, who bobbled the ball but corralled it as he went to the turf -- short of the first down by six inches or so.

Anybody who watched the play unfold was stunned.

"That was like a video-game play," Colts punt returner T.J. Rushing said. "You're playing your buddy and you're like, 'I'm just going to go for it.' I guess they figured no matter what, if the offense got the ball back, we were going to win. That's the only thing I can think of."

The Patriots gave Colts quarterback Peyton Manning a short field and braced for the inevitable.

You knew it was going to happen. Four plays later, he threw a strike to Reggie Wayne for a touchdown to give the Colts an implausible 35-34 victory in Lucas Oil Stadium.

What was Belichick thinking?

"We tried to win the game on that play," Belichick said, elaborating little.

Brady defended the call. So did the Patriots players who weren't too disgusted to speak to reporters after the game.

The Patriots have one of the NFL's best offenses. Brady is one of the game's all-time greats and was enjoying a monster day. They had amassed 477 yards from scrimmage, with 375 yards spiraling from Brady's right hand. They had the ball and wanted to keep it.

Quite simply, they thought 2 yards were more than attainable.

ESPN Stats & Information dug through the archives and found that entering Sunday's game, the Patriots had converted a fourth-and-2 or shorter 68 out of 89 times (76.4 percent) since 2001, Brady's first year as a starter.

"I don't ever second-guess coach Belichick," Brady said. "He makes the right decision out there a lot of the time. We as players have to go out there and do our jobs and execute the plays that are called. He's not responsible for turnovers or penalties or missed throws. We had our offense out there, and we're one of the best offenses in the league. We have a chance to go out there and make the play to win."

"In Bill We Trust" is a popular slogan among diehards. Even their devotion will be tested.

Belichick has built up a lot of faith equity over the years. He runs one of the NFL's dominant franchises, the team of the decade. He has three Super Bowl rings and four AFC championships.

That doesn't make him infallible.

"He's the head coach," Faulk said. "He makes the calls. They're not all right, but he's the head coach. No matter what he does, to us, that's going to be the right call."

To most everyone else, it was the wrong call for the Patriots.

"It's a game of inches, guys," Brady reasoned with reporters at his postgame news conference. "It's easy to second-guess, obviously. If we gain seven more inches, then it's a great call."

The Patriots (6-3) were afraid of Manning. In their minds, it didn't matter where Manning gained possession of the ball. He had a timeout at his disposal and probably the two-minute warning to help him manage a fantastic finish.

What had the Patriots particularly spooked were Manning's two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. He twice drove the Colts 79 yards. The first took five plays and 2:46. The second -- after the Patriots grabbed a seemingly safe 13-point lead with four minutes left -- took six plays and 1:49.

"It's not like as a coach you're thinking 'Let's see if they can do that again,' " Brady said. "He's thinking 'We've got our offense on the field. We have over 450 yards of offense at the time. We got a lot of great players on our offense.' "

Colts strong safety Melvin Bullitt said after the game defensive backs coach Alan Williams had been drilling into them all week that if the Patriots went for it on fourth down, the ball was going to Faulk or Wes Welker.

Bullitt was all over Faulk to make the game-saving tackle.

There's more than one way to look at Belichick's decision. Some might view it as having faith in his offense. Others might see it as an indictment of his defense.

Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden disagreed that the move suggested Belichick didn't have faith his defense could make a stop, noting that the coach entrusted his men to stop Manning to score in an Arena League situation.

Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe Manning drives the length of the field to stick a dagger in the Patriots' chests anyway. But the Patriots didn't have to make it so easy for him.

The Colts (9-0) are unbeaten, but Manning's not infallible either. He threw two bad interceptions early in the game. There was no guarantee he would have driven the Colts 80 yards. The Patriots should have made it tougher rather than put Manning on the doorstep.

"Against this team, you've got to play 60 minutes," Brady said. "If you don't, you'll get beat. When you're up 13 with four minutes left and you can't close them out, I think that's going to sit with us for a long time."

INDIANAPOLIS -- T.J. Rushing was all set. The Colts don’t boast much of a return team and he had fair caught three of the balls off Chris Hanson’s foot, allowing the other to be downed. Now, he’d get one more chance.

With a fourth-and-2 from the Patriots' 28-yard line, he was ready to line up and hoping he wouldn’t have to wave before catching punt No. 5.

“I think I was going to line up at the 25-yard line, about 45 yards away from him, because he was hitting them pretty good today, so I was hoping he out-kicked his coverage,” Rushing said. “Third-down stop, I got excited because I thought I was going to get a chance to make a play.

“I ran out on the field, I saw [Tom] Brady still out on the field, and I was like, ‘What is happening?’ They’re on their own end of the field, there is no way they are going to go for it.”

What was happening was Patriots coach Bill Belichick was deciding on an all-or-nothing gamble. He sent his offense back on the field to get the first down, to end the game with a gain of six feet with 2:08 left on the clock.

“That was like a video-game play,” Rushing said. “You’re playing your buddy and you’re like, ‘I’m just going to go for it.’ I guess they figured no matter what, if the offense got the ball back, we were going to win. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

Strong safety Melvin Bullitt lined up on running back Kevin Faulk with a mentality much like Rushing’s. He was going to make the game-swinging play. Defensive backs coach Alan Williams had told his guys all week in a fourth-down situation like this one, the Patriots would go to Wes Welker or Faulk.

Brady took a shotgun snap and threw to Faulk on the right. Bullitt was right there, wrapping up Faulk and taking him down for a 1-yard gain. Colts’ ball, and, four plays later, Colts’ game, 35-34, after a Peyton Manning-to-Reggie Wayne touchdown.

In showing confidence in his offense, Belichick set off an inadvertent side effect.

The Colts' defense was offended by the boldness.

“I was thinking, ‘Man, they’re going to try us like that? They’re going to disrespect us like that?' ” linebacker Philip Wheeler said. “We’ve got to stop them. We’ve got to man up. And we did that. Maybe it wasn’t disrespectful, maybe it was the smartest thing they could think of to do. I think we handled our business when they did it.”

“We just felt as though, that was a slap in the face,” free safety Antoine Bethea said. “Fourth down, in their territory? That was just a smack in the face. But the defense, we stood up and made a big play.”

Former Colts coach Tony Dungy, on NBC’s postgame show, questioned the logic.

“You have to punt the ball in that situation,” Dungy said. “As much as you might respect Peyton Manning, you have to play the percentages and punt the ball.”

The Colts (9-0) needed Belichick’s bailout plan because they’d played a game lacking their typical crispness and efficiency.

The fierce pass rush was stonewalled, the secondary toasted for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns by Randy Moss. The offense stumbled, with rhythm issues and drops.

Pierre Garcon was targeted 11 times, and while all those throws from Manning were hardly perfect, he pulled in only three of them. He didn’t think his 29-yard touchdown catch offset the errors. Rookie Austin Collie booted at least one pass too. Manning even threw a wobbly duck for one of his two picks.

“There were a lot of things,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. “One of the things we certainly can’t do is give up big plays and early on there Moss was kind of having his way with us I think. … You get him where he’s even with you and Brady’s not going to miss him. He puts that ball right on the money.

“Then we had penalties that set us back a little bit and dropped passes. So there are a lot of things for us to work on. It’s great to get a victory when maybe you didn’t play as well as you’re capable of.”

The Colts’ best work may have come on the play that produced the decisive points.

Earlier, Manning had looked unsuccessfully for Wayne on a fade in the left side of the end zone. From the 1-yard line with 16 seconds left, Manning was looking to try it again.

“I gave him my C.C. Sabathia shake off,” Wayne said. “I felt like I wanted to show fade and just come with the slant and it worked. [It was] at the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to be quick with it. You’ve got to shake him off and go on to the next call. I shook him off and I gave him the signal. I think after nine years he can trust me.”

The tired Colts shrugged after it was all over as they considered just how it unfolded.

“That’s the craziest win I’ve ever been involved in,” Bullitt said. “They’re bold. We never expected anything less.”

INDIANAPOLIS -- What in the world was that?

The New England Patriots stated their case they deserve to be known as the AFC East's best team.

And then they let it slip away.

The Patriots were on their way to beating the Indianapolis Colts, but Bill Belichick's nonsensical decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 28-yard line -- not the Colts' 28-yard line -- with two minutes left cost them dearly.

The Patriots didn't convert, and with the short field, Peyton Manning made Belichick pay. Four plays later, Manning hit Reggie Wayne for a touchdown with 13 seconds left to give the Colts an improbable 35-34 victory in Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Patriots went into the Colts' home and dissected them for about 58 minutes, holding a 34-21 lead in the fourth quarter.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was better than Manning, who threw two bad interceptions. Brady completed 29 of 42 attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns.

New England's offense was impressive, scoring touchdowns on drives of six, two, five and two plays. The Colts went into the game having allowed only one touchdown drive of six plays or fewer.

Randy Moss caught nine passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Faulk rushed 11 times for 79 yards. Laurence Maroney would've had a two-touchdown game had he not fumbled at the goal line in the third quarter.

Rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer continued his strong play, keeping Dwight Freeney from sacking Brady. Last week, Vollmer shut out the 2008 AFC sacks king, Joey Porter.

And, yet, none of it mattered.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A ridiculously nervy fourth-down attempt by the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter in their own end of the field came up short, and the Colts didn’t let Bill Belichick off the hook.

Poised until then for their first loss of the season, the Colts took full advantage: A four-play march to a touchdown that turned a game, and doubtlessly the NFL world, on its head.

Peyton Manning’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne gave the Colts their ninth win, 35-34, over AFC archrival New England, and surely sparked the most heated round of questioning Belichick will field since his days as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

It washed away an off night for Indy that included a limited pass rush, a pretty bad case of the dropsies, some uncommonly bad throws by Manning and some serious coverage issues that allowed Randy Moss to run wild.

The city will have a tough time falling asleep tonight and an awfully hard time responding to its alarm clock in the morning.

Once the euphoria dies down, the Colts will dive into a big pile of work.

Jim Caldwell has been selling his team on the idea that, despite the record, it was far from perfect, and players -- led by perfectionist quarterback Manning -- were clearly buying it.

Even with the miracle finish made possible by Belichick’s call, it’s an easy-to-renew theme from here, with a tough trip to Baltimore next week before a divisional rematch on the road in Houston.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts got a big sack from Robert Mathis, but they’ve generally been unable to harass Tom Brady and that’s been a big piece of their problem Sunday night.

Mathis just got Brady and forced a fumble, but Dan Koppen recovered and New England retained possession.

Dwight Freeney came into the game as an under-appreciated defensive player of the year candidate, I thought, with at least a sack in every game and 9.5 total.

Pregame thinking was that Freeney would be able to get underneath the pads of rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who’s 6-8. But while Vollmer’s had some help, more from backs than tight ends, Freeney’s not found any avenues for using the size to Vollmer’s disadvantage.

I just locked in on the matchup for a couple snaps. Vollmer appears to be having no difficulties.

INDIANAPOLIS -- NBC "Football Night in America" host Bob Costas sat down for an interview with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning as part of Sunday night's pregame show.

A couple of passages from the segment ...

Manning's thoughts on Tom Brady:

"I can't tell you where he ranks. I can tell you what a great quarterback he is or what a great leader he is. Certainly, when the stakes are at their highest, that's when he seems to shine and make the most plays. At the end of the AFC Championship [Game] a few years ago, I don't usually pray during a game but I just knew I gave Brady a minute, 23 [seconds]. That's just way too much time. ... He's made the hard look easy. He's one of the best."

Manning on the great quarterbacks who didn't win a Super Bowl:

"I still defend [Dan] Marino. I still defend [Fran] Tarkenton. I still defend Jim Kelly. All I know is what great quarterbacks they were. I've seen guys change when they've won one. They kind of say, 'I'm out of that club now. I'm in this new club.' I kind of like being in the old club with guys who just played their butts off every single Sunday. Jim Kelly, Marino, Tarkenton, John Stockton, you get guys not just in the NFL. I admire those guys for how long they played, how well they competed, how hard they competed. That's really all I want."

INDIANAPOLIS -- A few quick observations from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the New England Patriots lead the Indianapolis Colts by 10 points and will get the ball to start the second half.

Tom Brady and Randy Moss have been the stars of the show so far. Brady has completed 11 of 19 attempts for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Moss has 144 of those yards on four catches.

The Patriots' offense looks intriguing if they stay with Julian Edelman and Isaiah Stanback -- two college quarterbacks who could help them get creative in the future.

Edelman returned after missing two games with a broken right forearm. He has two catches for 14 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Stanback has one catch for 9 yards, but he has been on the field often.

Colts tight end Dallas Clark singed the Patriots for 25 yards on the first play of their second drive but otherwise has been rather quiet. He had one more grab for 12 yards, but that has been it so far.

The Patriots lost outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (ribs) and his replacement Rob Ninkovich (knee).

Rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer has done well a second straight game. He shut out Joey Porter last week and has kept Dwight Freeney from getting to Brady so far Sunday night.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A lot of bad things have converged for the Colts, who trail the Patriots 24-14. Certainly New England is making much of it happen.

Peyton Manning has been hit a bunch, which has affected his accuracy, as you’d expect.

Linebacker Derrick Burgess, coming from Manning’s left, has applied heat a couple of times. Jerod Mayo blitzed untouched to nail Manning for an 11-yard loss on a play that left left tackle Charlie Johnson with his palms raised in a “what happened” expression.

The drops are harder to explain. Austin Collie had a bad one, and while Pierre Garcon has been well defended, he’s going to wish he had a couple back.

But the offense is under pressure to close the gap because of defensive failures, and it’s not just Randy Moss who has been running free. Ben Watson and others have had turns.

Now we see what sort of halftime adjustments Jim Caldwell and his staff can make and how well prepared they are for what Bill Belichick and his assistants have in store going forward.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Through eight games, the Indianapolis Colts had given up a touchdown on six plays or fewer a grand total of one time.

The New England Patriots have whacked them for two such touchdowns Sunday night and lead 17-7 in the second quarter.

Tom Brady and Randy Moss were the perpetrators each time. Moss broke free in the Colts secondary in the first quarter, and Brady made it hurt with a well-placed pass that let Moss go for 55 yards. That set up Laurence Maroney's 1-yard touchdown run.

That drive took six plays.

New England's next touchdown happened in two plays.

Moss then made a spectacular 63-yard touchdown catch on a high, arcing throw. Colts safety Antoine Bethea had perfect coverage, matching Moss stride for stride and getting his arm in between Moss' hands. But Moss seized the ball and tucked it away as he stumbled into the end zone.

Moss has four catches for 144 yards and a touchdown that broke his tie with Terrell Owens for second place on the all-time receiving touchdowns list. Moss has 141, still 56 behind Jerry Rice.

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's time for the Colts to make some adjustments with the Randy Moss coverage.

The Patriots have touchdown drives of six and two plays after the Colts had given up just one that fast all season, and both have been spurred by Moss. He found an open pasture in the secondary for a 55-yard gain on the first drive.

And now, despite tight coverage from safety Antoine Bethea, Moss just caught a 53-yard scoring pass from Tom Brady to put the Patriots ahead 17-7.

Bethea had his right arm between Moss’ arms as the receiver made the catch with no concern for the defensive arm placement.

Rookie corners were a big story to many coming in. They may have been a factor on the first big gainer, but the safeties, Bethea and Melvin Bullitt, have been more of the issue.

Meanwhile as the Colts look to drive, Donald Brown is working as the feature back. Joseph Addai’s been out since suffering a finger injury, and my guess is we aren’t going to see him again.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The New England Patriots began with a three-and-out possession.

Their offense soon found a rhythm and, two possessions later, have a 10-7 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts looked impressive on their touchdown drive, but the Patriots have scored on each of their next two drives. Randy Moss has done the most damage. His 55-yard catch and run set up Laurence Maroney's 1-yard touchdown run.

The drive took only six plays. The Colts went into the game having allowed only one touchdown drive of six plays or fewer, tied with the Denver Broncos for best in the NFL.

On the next series, Moss caught a 20-yard pass to convert a third-and-8 play and get the ball in range for Stephen Gostkowski, who eventually hit a 31-yard field goal.

Also of note, third-string quarterback Isaiah Stanback, a former Dallas Cowboy, has gotten involved in the offense. He has one reception for 9 yards. The Patriots promoted him from the practice squad this weekend.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Earlier this week, we covered how the AFC South stood on touchdown drives of six plays or less allowed. The Colts were tied for best in the league, having yielded just one, to San Francisco.

Make it two.

That Patriots' score that made it a 7-7 game at Lucas Oil Stadium came on a six-play, 73-yard drive highlighted by a 55-yard catch by Randy Moss on which the Colts’ safeties didn’t close his space very well.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The New England Patriots will be without both of their starting defensive ends Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

The inactives lists are circulating through the Lucas Oil Stadium press box, and the big news is that the Patriots have scratched left end Ty Warren, who had been listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Right end Jarvis Green was an expected scratch.

Two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Matt Light, who returned to practice this week, is out again. Rookie Sebastian Vollmer should get his fourth straight start and will have the pleasure of fending off Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney.

A name not on the inactive list is rookie receiver Julian Edelman. He missed the past two games with a broken forearm.

The complete this of inactives:

New England Patriots

• Running back Sammy Morris
• Running back Fred Taylor
• Guard Rich Ohrnberger
• Tackle Matt Light
• Defensive end Ty Warren
• Defensive end Jarvis Green
• Linebacker Eric Alexander
• Cornerback Shawn Springs

Indianapolis Colts

• Quarterback Jim Sorgi
• Receiver Anthony Gonzalez
• Tight end Mike Santi
• Guard Mike Pollak
• Tackle Tony Ugoh
• Cornerback Kelvin Hayden
• Safety Aaron Francisco
• Kicker Adam Vinatieri

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 10:

The New England Patriots don’t need to win Sunday night, but they must beat either the Indianapolis Colts or New Orleans Saints. If the Patriots go 0-2 on the road against undefeated teams that are considered Nos. 1 and 2 in virtually every power rankings poll, Patriot Nation won't unravel. But if the Patriots want to re-establish themselves as an elite team, they should knock off either the Colts this weekend or the Saints in Week 12. Both games are in prime time, an occasion to step up.

An out-of-the blue hip injury may signal the beginning of the end for Terrell Owens' career. For those who don't believe Owens' stats are an indicator -- he's on pace to have the worst season of his NFL career -- Wednesday's news that he is suffering from a strange hip injury could be the omen. The Bills were on a bye last week. He was fine at Monday's practice, then on Tuesday (a day off) he told the Bills he was hurt. Owens will turn 36 next month.

The young Miami Dolphins' secondary will be very good in the near future. Two weeks ago, the Dolphins started three rookies in their defensive backfield, including cornerbacks Sean Smith and Vontae Davis and safety Chris Clemons. Smith had a sensational training camp and has held his own during the season. Davis, in for out-of-commission starter Will Allen, has shown flashes in recent weeks, including a great interception to deny Randy Moss a long bomb In Week 9. Of course, Moss later abused Davis on the game's two biggest plays, but the experience the Dolphins' secondary is getting in 2009 will be enormous for next year and beyond.

The New York Jets must make a statement. The Jets are 4-4 and have a faint playoff pulse. They've had plenty to think about during their bye week and must emerge with a convincing victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Meadowlands to get themselves in the right frame of mind for the homestretch. The Jets' remaining opponents have a .563 win percentage. They need to back up their big words immediately. Nobody cares what a non-playoff team has to say.

Patriots safety Brandon McGowan will have a bigger role Sunday night than any other defensive player. Other players might have a more explosive game in terms of stats, but McGowan's job might be the toughest. He must make sure Colts tight end Dallas Clark has a quiet night, and I like McGowan's chances. He has been an under-the-radar performer, signed as a situational defensive back and special-teamer. But he has evolved into a remarkable defender. He has shut down Pro Bowlers Tony Gonzalez (one catch, 16 yards) and Kellen Winslow (two catches, 9 yards) so far.

Nobody relies on the double formation more than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

ESPN Stats & Information tracks every snap and notes the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts favor the formation -- single back, two receivers to each side -- more than any other NFL team.

A standard look from the double formation would be a wideout and slot receiver to one side and the tight end and a wideout to the other side.

The Patriots have operated out of the double formation 268 times, or 49 percent of their 552 plays from scrimmage. They're averaging 6.4 yards a play.

The Colts have gone double an NFL-high 354 times on 47 fewer snaps, or 70 percent of the time. They have amassed 2,323 yards out of double, an average of 6.6 yards per play.

But Indy's average doesn't lead the league. The Dallas Cowboys have averaged 9.1 yards on their 144 plays in the double formation. The San Diego Chargers have averaged 7.5 yards on their 104 plays.

The Arizona Cardinals are a distant third with 189 plays out of the double formation.

I was in the Buffalo Bills' locker room on Wednesday, so I stopped by backup quarterback Gibran Hamdan's stall to get his take on why the double formation suits Brady and Manning.

The Patriots visit the Colts on Sunday night in Lucas Oil Stadium.

"It's about being blessed enough to keep a system in place for a long period of time," Hamdan said. "They've built a whole package around the formation."

Hamdan, who took part in the NFL's Broadcast Boot Camp over the summer, has a bright future as an analyst. He's one of those guys who makes you feel smarter for speaking with him.

"You can ask a lot of quarterbacks, and they feel good about certain formations," Hamdan said. "The key to it is those two guys like it. They know the intricacies of that formation, and they've seen pretty much everything a defense can do to them.

"Once you've seen all the looks, now you're just letting the players' ability to take over. Then you get into a feel and a rapport between the quarterback and receiver that happens when you play for a long period of time and run a formation like double over and over and over."

Hamdan noted the Bills' double formation often has Lee Evans split out and slot receiver Josh Reed to the left, with tight end Derek Fine and receiver Terrell Owens on the right.

New England's version might have Randy Moss and Wes Welker on the weak side, Chris Baker and Sam Aiken on the strong side.

"There's versatility," Hamdan said. "You can create things on both sides of the field, so symmetry definitely creates a versatility that maybe a three-by-one formation would lack."

It also comes down to precision. Hamdan pointed out neither team offers much variety out of the double formation.

"Turn on their film," Hamdan said. "They're not running that many plays out of that formation. They just know what they're doing and execute it."

In case you were curious what formations are popular with the other AFC East teams, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets rank third and fifth in most plays out of a backfield set (two running backs). The Dolphins have used two backs on 48 percent of their snaps. The Jets have done so on 47 percent.

The Dolphins, of course, lead the league in Wildcat (any player other than a quarterback takes the snap). They've made 76 Wildcat attempts, more than three times as often as the next team on the list, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bills most frequently operate out of a trips formation (single back with three receivers to one side). They've run it 191 times, third-most in the NFL. They also rank 11th in the double formation with 160 plays.

The Patriots have run an empty set (only a quarterback in the backfield) 45 times, three fewer than the league-leading Houston Texans.