
With just 11:43 left in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski to give the New England Patriots a 17-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
New England had won six straight before the Colts came back to win for the sixth time in seven meetings.
Brady’s 478-yard, five-touchdown performance tied him for the NFL lead with Peyton Manning.
New York won its third straight and the Patriots won their fifth straight in a season that started out with such promise.
Brady, who is fifth in the NFL in passer rating, threw a 3-yard touchdown pass late in the first half to tight end Aaron Hernandez with just over nine minutes left.
After a couple of short throws, Brady got the ball back with 1:28 left in regulation.
The Patriots rallied from a 7-0 deficit to tie it, then turned to Gronkowski after the Colts were able to get their first field goal of the game.
The three-time Pro Bowler caught a 22-yard pass from Brady in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 16 with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining.
Brady was sacked on fourth-and-goal from the Colts’ 20.
Brady scored on a 1-yard run to make it 21-17 with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Gronkowski went 19 yards on a 4-yard TD pass to Devin Funchess for his first career TD.
The Colts scored on their next two drives, including a 19-yard catch-and