Jonas Gray put in a dominant display as he scored four touchdowns to guide the New England Patriots to a 42-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts to take control of the number one seed in AFC.
The Patriots took the lead on their first possession of the game as they accumulated 77 rushing yards moving downfield, before Tom Brady handed the ball off to Gray on the goalline, who powered into the endzone.
Indianapolis hit back immediately as Andrew Luck completed three passes to Reggie Wayne for 70 yards, but the Patriots managed to halt them in the redzone. Adam Vinatieri got his side on the board with a 31-yard field goal.
Brady and Luck exchanged interceptions as both defenses tried to gain the upper hand in the match, but the New England man soon found his stride to put his side back on the goalline. Once again the 37-year-old handed off to Gray for a two-yard touchdown.
Brady committed a crucial error just before the break as he threw his second pick of the match, which allowed Luck to take over deep in Patriots territory. Luck fired a touchdown strike to Hakeem Nicks to bring his side within four points.
However, Brady immediately atoned for his mistake in the second half when he led his side downfield, and this time he threw to the endzone for tight end Tim Wright, who made the grab for the one-yard touchdown.
Indianapolis hit back with a field goal from the boot of Vinatieri from 53 yards, but the Patriots returned to their dominant ground game and Gray notched his third score of the game with a two-yard run.
In the fourth quarter, the Colts kept their slim hopes of a positive result alive when Luck found his tackle Anthony Castonzo in the endzone for a one-yard strike.
New England put the game beyond the reach of the home side when Gray powered his side to the goalline, and he notched his fourth touchdown of the game with a one-yard run.
Rob Gronkowski sealed his side's win with his ninth touchdown of the season as he broke several tackles to leap into the endzone for a 26-yard score.
Simon Sinclair
