NFL

Colts Bring End to Lengthy First-Half Scoring Streak for Patriots

Indianapolis became the first team to hold the Patriots off the scoreboard in the first half in 99 games

DeForest Buckner
USA TODAY

Things have gone from bad to worse for the New England Patriots in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts.

Thanks to a red zone interception for Mac Jones inside of the two-minute warning, it's gotten so bad that the Colts have brought an end to a lengthy Patriots streak of scoring in the first half.

By blanking New England over the opening 30 minutes, 17-0, Indianapolis became the first team to hold the Patriots off the scoreboard in the first half in 99 games, per the NFL Network broadcast, which had been the longest active streak in the NFL.

The last team shut New England out in the first half? The Buffalo Bills, who did so in Week 4 of the 2016 season in a game they'd go on to win 16-0.

However, there are caveats aplenty from that game. The Bills were facing a Patriots team down to their third-string quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, who was starting with a broken thumb. Tom Brady returned a week later from his four-game suspension.

There's no such excuse for New England tonight, which entered the weekend atop the AFC East and in the thick of the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

It's been a while since the Patriots came down from such a first-half deficit, too: Not since they trailed against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI have they overcome such a hole.

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