The New England Patriots blew out the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
But the 59-24 victory was overshadowed by reports of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski having suffered a broken forearm.
Tom Brady threw two of his three touchdown passes to Gronkowski as New England cooled off the Colts.
Brady completed 24-of-35 passes for 331 yards, while Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen each rushed for fourth-quarter scores in the lopsided win, the fourth in a row for New England (7-3).
Julian Edelman had a well-rounded performance. He scored on a punt return, caught five passes for 58 yards with one touchdown and added a 47-yard run.
"We got great contributions from all three phases of our team," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who picked up career win No. 199. "The players really stepped up and delivered some big plays throughout the game."
Andrew Luck, meanwhile, did amass 334 passing yards and connected on two touchdowns with T.Y. Hilton. However, the Indianapolis rookie threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and lost a fumble that led to another score.
"(I'm) disappointed in myself for committing four turnovers on my part and two of those went for immediate touchdowns. They did a good job," said Luck, who had his fifth 300-yard passing game, the most by a rookie in league history. He had been tied with Peyton Manning.
The Colts (6-4), who were aiming for their fifth straight win, were helped along on the game's opening possession by a pass interference penalty. Defensive back Kyle Arrington was guilty of the 40-yard infraction that set up Delone Carter's 1-yard touchdown run.
New England responded on its first drive when Brady hit Gronkowski for a 4- yard touchdown, but Luck put Indianapolis back on top with a 14-yard scoring strike to Hilton.
Two exceptional run-backs 61 seconds apart gave the Patriots a 21-14 lead.
After Stephen Gostkowski missed a 36-yard field goal wide right in the early stages of the second quarter, the New England defense forced a three-and-out.
Edelman returned the ensuing punt 68 yards for a touchdown, cutting to the near sideline and staying in bounds as he raced to the end zone.
Newcomer Aqib Talib then made his presence felt, picking off an overthrown pass by Luck and zig-zagging across the field for a 59-yard touchdown. The cornerback made his New England debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay on Nov. 1. He sat out last week's win over Buffalo while completing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Former Patriot Adam Vinatieri capped Indy's next drive by drilling a 47-yard field goal to a chorus of boos. Gostkowski kicked a 31-yarder before his predecessor missed from 58 yards on the final play of the half.
Following the break, Brady capped the first drive of the third quarter with a 2-yard TD toss to Edelman.
The lead swelled to 45-17 when Luck committed turnovers on consecutive drives.
Rob Ninkovich forced and recovered a fumble at the Indianapolis 24-yard line. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Gronkowski entered the record books, becoming the first tight end in NFL history with three straight seasons of at least 10 TD catches.
The Colts then marched into New England territory, but the promising drive ended when rookie corner Alfonzo Dennard picked off Luck and sprinted 87 yards for a touchdown at the outset of the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
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