1. Snap counts & injury updates.
Using the Colts' unofficial depth chart as a guide, two starters played Thursday: Right tackle Jalen Travis (five snaps out of 65 on offense) and safety AJ Haulcy (23 snaps out of 73 on defense).
Travis is sliding into his first season as a full-time starter, while Haulcy got his first taste of NFL action on Thursday. Joining Travis on the field for only the Colts' first offensive possession were wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and tight end Drew Ogletree. Wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine played 13 snaps and caught one pass for 19 yards from quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr.
The Colts' two listed starters at linebacker – CJ Allen and Akeem Davis-Gaither – did not play (Allen has missed the last week with a hamstring injury). But defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo hasn't decided on a top linebacker pairing yet; Austin Ajiake (39 snaps) and Bryce Boettcher (34 snaps) got the first crack at snaps on Thursday with Jaylon Carlies (31 snaps) rotating in too.
Fourth-year swing tackle Blake Freeland played all 65 snaps, while fellow tackle Luke Tenuta played 54 snaps before exiting with a knee injury.
Cornerback Jaylon Jones exited the game in the second half and was evaluated for a concussion.
Steichen said special teams coordinator Brian Mason, too, was getting his knee looked at after a sideline collision on the final play of the game.
2. Will Mallory had a productive evening.
Mallory showed up in a big way late in the second quarter, with consecutive catches to spark the Colts' lone touchdown drive of the night. On his first grab, he beat Patriots safety Mike Brown across his face on an out-breaking route; on his second, he bent a corner route toward the numbers and showed tremendous concentration to haul in Anthony Richardson Sr.'s pass, which was tipped by a Patriots defender.
Notably, Mallory had a similar catch on a tipped in-breaking route in Tuesday's joint practice.
In the third quarter, Mallory chipped and released into the flat on a third and seven from the New England 25-yard line. After catching Riley Leonard's pass going toward the sideline, he stopped and cut upfield, accelerating away from safety John Saunders Jr. before lowering his shoulder and powering through a tackle attempt from cornerback Channing Canada for a gain of 12.
"He's a friendly target," Leonard said. "He's a big, big guy. He understands space, extremely fast, right place at the right time."
3. A quick look at one of Anthony Richardson Sr.'s better throws of the night.
With 18 seconds left in the second quarter and ball on the Colt' 35-yard line, Richardson hit the back of his drop and threaded a pass to Mallory by the far sideline, with the tight end going out of bounds near midfield. He took advantage of Patriots linebacker Khalil Jacobs being caught a little out of position and picked out Mallory, who was accelerating away from linebacker Chad Muma after coming out of his break on a flood concept.
"I saw the backer getting ready to drive the running back (Ulysses Bentley IV)," Richardson said. "I really thought he was going to fall off a little bit, but he ended up slipping through, and I just found a spot to put the ball in there and led Will right there to catch it."
Two plays later, Richardson picked out wide receiver Eli Pancol for a seven-yard gain, setting up a end-of-half 61-yard field goal by Blake Grupe that sailed wide right.
"I think even the two-minute drive at the end of the half was big to get us down there," Steichen said. "He did a lot of good things."
4. Riley Leonard was disappointed with his performance.
Leonard played the entire second half and completed 10 of 21 passes for 89 yards with an interception; after the game, he said he was "disappointed" with how he played.
"Gotta live with the past, but look forward to getting to practice and learning from my mistakes, making up for it," Leonard said. "A little sloppy, so just excited to get back out there, redeem myself and just kind of get back into a rhythm."
While Richardson didn't play a completely clean game, he completed 78.5 percent of his passes, which Steichen pointed to shortly after the game ended. The Colts aren't necessarily in a rush to name a backup to Daniel Jones, and Thursday's game was one moment in a key stretch of three games and three joint practices in the next few weeks.
5. Three Colts rookies made an impression on defense.
Sixth-round defensive end Caden Curry absolutely stuffed the box score, with the local product registering one sack, five tackles, three quarterback hits, two tackles for a loss and two pass break-ups.
"Caden Curry made a ton of plays," Steichen said. "I was really pleased with him."
Curry's goal in his pro preseason debut was to use his relentless motor to his advantage – "I've always been taught to never give up (on a play)," he said – and his effort consistently showed up in a major way. On his sack, he won with a crossover move from an interior alignment before dropping Patriots quarterback Behren Morton.
And while getting his first career NFL sack, even if it's still the preseason, was a notable accomplishment for Curry, he doesn't intend to rest on his laurels.
"It's always something I dreamed of, but just making sure that I keep continuing it and just not being satisfied after that one," Curry said.
Colts fifth-round defensive end George Gumbs Jr. also brought good effort, which resulted in him getting a hustle sack in the first quarter after pressure from defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore affected Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito.
Gumbs, like Curry, said his focus is more on what he needs to clean up from his preseason debut. And, same as Curry, Steichen noted what Gumbs brought to the field Thursday night in his post game press conference.
The same can be said for fourth-round linebacker Bryce Boettcher, who had a couple of run stops. Steichen noted how fast Boettcher played in his NFL preseason debut.
