Colts begin preseason in New England, renewing a long-standing rivalry with the Patriots

The Indianapolis Colts kick off their preseason schedule with a trip to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots in Thursday night’s preseason opener. With both teams entering the game with a 0-0 preseason ledger, the matchup is less about results and more about what each staff can uncover when the regular-season stakes are still a few weeks away.

For Colts fans, the opponent carries familiar weight. The meeting with the Patriots marks a renewed look at one of the NFL’s more enduring franchise rivalries, a matchup that has often served as a measuring stick for how well each team’s football identity holds up against a long-time opponent. In the preseason, that context shifts from “who wins the season series” to “what does the team look like when the game plan is simplified and opportunities expand.”

A preseason opener also tends to be a snapshot of roster construction. Coaches and coordinators use these early games to sort out rotation patterns on both lines, establish how the run-pass mix works with different personnel groups, and confirm which players can carry responsibilities when the field tilts toward backups. For Indianapolis, the key question is how quickly the unit chemistry forms in live action across multiple drives, not just during the opening stretch.

On the defensive side, preseason openers typically reveal how communication and assignments translate when opponents run modified but still varied looks. New England and Indianapolis both will be testing coverage and front concepts while determining who can execute consistently as offensive personnel changes drive to drive. Those evaluations matter even if starters do not play long, because a coaching staff’s depth chart is built on what it sees from the second and third waves.

Special teams can swing a preseason storyline in a hurry, and this early meeting offers both clubs a chance to calibrate the details that follow teams into the regular season. Punt and kickoff coverage, return decision-making, and the timing between snap, block, and pursuit are often the difference between “promising” and “concerning” in preseason film review. For the Colts, that includes confirming who handles the late-game snaps and who can be trusted in game-speed situations after a long summer.

For spectators, the most practical takeaway is to watch the patterns rather than the scoreboard. Who gets meaningful reps in the middle quarters, how the play-calling adapts to personnel changes, and whether the team can sustain sequences with the same group often show more than the final stat line. As both staffs move deeper into camp, this opener becomes a baseline: it is the first chance for each team to turn practice plans into real-game execution.

With the Colts traveling north for an early-season test against a familiar rival, the story of Thursday night’s game will likely be about roles, depth, and readiness. The Patriots and Colts will each leave with answers, even if the answers are incomplete, and the next few preseason weeks will determine which takeaways become the building blocks for August practice and September preparation.