Mike Adams up, coach Chuck Pagano down in Colts' loss

INDIANAPOLIS -- A look at Indianapolis Colts players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots:

UP

Safety Mike Adams: Adams added to his interception total against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady when he picked him off for the third time in the past three meetings. Adams returned the interception 14 yards for a touchdown. Sunday marked the first time since the 2005 season that Adams returned an interception for a touchdown. The bad news for the veteran safety, though, is that he sat out the second half with a hamstring injury.

Quarterback Andrew Luck: Luck missed some throws, but he didn’t play badly in his first game back since a shoulder injury in Week 3. Luck finished 30-of-50 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. That’s an impressive performance when you take into consideration that Luck entered the game throwing 10 interceptions against the Patriots in the previous four meetings.

DOWN

Coach Chuck Pagano: Miscommunication or not, Pagano can’t let the types of mistakes happen that did on Sunday when the Colts were in position to beat the Super Bowl champions. He allowed the Colts to run a play that basically halted any chance of them ending their losing streak to the Patriots when they messed up a fourth-down play on which they tried to catch the Patriots off the guard. The failed play gave the Patriots a short field and Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass six plays later to give New England a 34-21 lead.

The offensive line. The unit played a relatively clean game against Houston in Week 5, but they struggled on Sunday. The line was called for five of the team’s 11 penalties that totaled 43 of their 103 yards in that area. Receiver Andre Johnson also contributed five yards when he was called for a false start.