Jonas Gray became the first running back in Patriots history to rush for four TDs in a game.(Photo: Thomas J. Russo, USA TODAY Sports)
INDIANAPOLIS Few people outside of New England might have known anything about Jonas Gray before Sunday night, but Robert Kraft knew.
The New England Patriots owner stopped Gray, the unheralded, undrafted, former practice squad player in a hallway of Gillette Stadium on Saturday, before the team headed to the airport to board its plane to Indianapolis.
"You're going to have a good game this week, so be ready," Kraft told him.
Gray relayed this story late Sunday night, surrounded by dozens of reporters and television cameras after Kraft's prediction came true. Gray, who had just 131 career rushing yards in three previous games in the 2 since he entered the NFL, rushed for 199 yards and scored four touchdowns in New England's 45-20 win against the Colts.
No Patriots running back had ever scored four touchdowns in a single game before Gray did it Sunday night.
"I'll probably go home tonight, when we get back around 4 a.m., I'll lay in bed, look up at the ceiling and just be astonished about what's going on," Gray said. "It's writing a great story, man."
Indeed, Gray's tale is one of patience and resilience, and his performance against the Colts is one that should inspire the hundreds of players grinding through the season on a practice squad never getting to play on Sundays, receiving a paltry-by-comparison salary.
Gray, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during his senior year at Notre Dame, spent his first year in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, going through rehab, never practicing, never playing. He was cut a year later, after training camp, and spent last season on the scout team in Baltimore. He did the same in New England for the first six weeks of this season, until a season-ending injury to Stevan Ridley opened up a roster spot.
The running game is never going to be what defines these New England Patriots, not as long as Tom Brady is quarterback and he's got a hulking and healthy Rob Gronkowski to throw to, but Gray on Sunday gave the Patriots a new dimension that should terrify the rest of the AFC.
These Patriots will bully you, beat you up and run you over which they did to the Colts when Gray rushed 38 times. These Patriots can win even when Brady isn't at his best which they did Sunday even after Brady threw two first-half interceptions.
"Even though we'd love it for Tom to throw seven touchdowns every game, sometimes it's not going to be like that," cornerback Darrelle Revis said.
VIDEO: Week 11 around the NFL
USA TODAY Sports reporters break down all of the action from Week 11 around the league.
Video TranscriptAutomatically Generated Transcript (may not be 100% accurate)
00:02 To St. Louis Rams had the most dangerous team in 00:04 the NFL it's probably not going to make the playoffs. After 00:08 winning earlier this season against the Seattle Seahawks in San Francisco 00:12 49ers. The rams got this statement win on Sunday 22 to 00:16 seven against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Just seven points 00:20 the Broncos scored. Those are the fewest amount scored in the 00:24 Peyton Manning air and Denver. Revealing even major issues going on 00:28 the Broncos offense right now particularly when they're offensive line and 00:32 their running game. The rams meanwhile become my teens that no 00:36 one wants to face. They have discovered their pass rush the 00:40 one that was so that some earlier in the season. And 00:42 no one's gonna wanna have to try to block Robert quit 00:45 her parents Donald over the last half of the season. No 00:49 Carson Palmer and no problem. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Detroit 00:53 Lions 146. And a dominant performance with backup quarterback Drew Stanton 00:58 at the Helm. Arizona extended league's best record and now sits 01:02 at 91 on season. Six who threw for 306 yards two 01:06 touchdowns and two interceptions on the game. The cardinals looked like 01:09 bona fide Super Bowl contenders. After contending a very talented lions 01:13 team that now drops to seven and three. It's probably time 01:18 to pick Kansas City Chiefs a little bit more seriously. After 01:21 they pulled into it tied for the AFC west lead. With 01:25 Sunday's twenty or twenty win. Over the Seattle Seahawks Jamaal Charles 01:29 led the way with a 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 01:33 All the chiefs defense got 34 down stops. In the final 01:37 eight minutes the chiefs go to Oakland next before the November 01:41 30 showdown against the Broncos in Kansas City. Seahawks would be 01:46 on the outside the playoff picture looking in the postseason begins 01:49 today. They prepare to host the Arizona Cardinals who currently lead 01:54 the NFC west. It won't go down as the. Produce victory 01:57 for the 49ers will surely take it. San Francisco defeated the 02:01 New York Giants 1610 and MetLife stadium to improve to six 02:05 and four. With the Seahawks dropping their game against the Kansas 02:08 City Chiefs. Both Seattle and the 49ers are now tied for 02:12 second place in the NFC west the 49ers and Seahawks haven't 02:15 played yet this season. And the outcome of those two games 02:18 later this year. What it is slides from the wildcard spots 02:21 in the NFC. Another home game another epic route for the 02:26 Green Bay Packers to crush the Philadelphia Eagles. 53 to twenty 02:31 on Sunday. They've now outscored their last four opponents here at 02:34 Lambeau Field by 144. Points in the first three quarters before 02:40 they call off the dogs. And they've outscored fifteen point two 02:43 consecutive games. For the first time in franchise history. Those are 02:48 good omens for January they'll go to Minnesota next week the 02:52 Eagles draft pick up the pieces at home against Tennessee. As 02:57 in New England Patriots where art scary and now we just 03:01 Tom Brady Rob Gronkowski who worry about and the patriots went 03:05 out and found a running game that's exactly what happened Sunday 03:09 night in the 45 to twenty win against the Indianapolis Colts. 03:13 As Jonas gray a former practice squad players who only made 03:18 it and it felt that you last month. Rushed for a 03:21 199. Yards and four touchdowns those four touchdowns were as many 03:26 as all the other running back and believe come behind. Scored 03:30 on Sunday and has a franchise record for the patriots. What 03:34 this means right now for the patriots is that there the 03:37 most of well rounded team in the annex south for the 03:40 colts meanwhile this is the third loss against the patriots in 03:44 that answer love Sarah at once again. The colts were proven 03:48 to be one dimensional against New England. And that's something that 03:52 they're going to have to figure out if they want to 03:54 chance to beat the patriots should they meet again in the
These Patriots have, in consecutive games, thoroughly whipped the Denver Broncos and the Colts, teams widely considered to be among the NFL's elite, and moved a game ahead of everyone else in the AFC.
It's hard to remember now, in the midst of the Patriots' six-game winning streak, just how badly they were floundering in September. Now, it's hard to imagine any team going into Foxborough in January and beating a team with that quarterback, that running game and a defense that held Andrew Luck and the NFL's leading offense to just 322 yards, and only 19 rushing yards.
"I mean, when Bill (Belichick) talked about the run game, he's talking about the offensive line, defensive line. So the defensive line, for me to look over and see our offensive line go to work, it was the best feeling in the world," New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "We kind of fed off of them. They led. They showed us the way."
Of course, Wilfork was among those who knew about Gray long before Sunday's breakout game, practicing against Gray for weeks while Gray was on the scout team. Though Gray was running scripted plays, mimicking opposing tailbacks, his legs were always churning, his reps were always at full-speed.
"I was just happy to see him get rewarded tonight," Wilfork said.
Watching Gray and the Patriots rack up 244 rushing yards had to be disheartening for the Colts, who found themselves once again rendered one-dimensional against New England. Though Luck still managed to throw for 303 yards and a pair of touchdowns without the benefit of a running game Luck was the leading rusher with 15 yards on three scrambles it wasn't even close to enough.
Indianapolis players said this week they understood the stakes of his game, that the Patriots were the best measuring stick against which to gauge their progress in Year 3 of the Andrew Luck Era. Years 1 and 2 had lopsided losses to New England, including a loss last January in the divisional round of the playoffs in which Luck threw four interceptions. Luck threw another interception Sunday night, when Revis deflected a pass up and into the arms of teammate Devin McCourty. That interception happened in the red zone, the type of mistake the Colts can't make in games of this magnitude.
The Colts certainly will be a playoff team, and it is conceivable that they might still wind up with a first-round bye, but there is little reason now to believe that should the Colts have to play the Patriots again, the result would be any different than it was Sunday.
"To be honest, it really doesn't matter how you folks look at this team. To us, what matters is we lost a game. We've got to fix what we did wrong and go out and try to win the next one," Luck said. "Thankfully this is not the last game of the season. We'd truly be sick to our stomachs. We've got a lot to improve."
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 11
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