FOXBORO – This was supposed to be a shootout, right?

If the Earps and Doc Halladay, the Clantons and McLaurys had fired this many blanks at the OK Corral, Kurt Russell and Walter Brennan might not have had movie careers.

The predicted offensive fireworks between the first and seventh ranked offenses in the NFL, or if you prefer, the 29th ranked defense and a depleted New England secondary, never materialized.

That was because New England’s offense was holding the matches for most of the game, controlling the ball for over 37 minutes and keeping Indianapolis’ high-powered offense off the field. The Patriots engaged the Colts in three epic scoring drives of nine, eight and seven minutes, drives that ripped the heart out of Indy’s defense and offense..

The longest drive, a 16-play, 78-yard march that took 9:07 off the clock in the second quarter, ended with three points and frustration. Corey Dillon’s one-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal inside the one was negated by a Matt Light false start and New England had to settled for an Adam Vinatieri field goal.

“We were disappointed. To be down there on the 1/2-yard line and to punch it in like we did and then go back five yards was very disappointing,” New England QB Tom Brady said. “Against a team like this, you don’t know how many field goals you want to kick. Touchdowns are the most important thing.”

“That is one of those things that was early in the game,” Light said. “You have to brush it off and get back out there and work even harder.”

It was only going to get harder for the Colts’ defense. New England’s second possession of the second half lasted 15 plays (11 runs) and 8:16. Brady capped it with a five-yard TD pass to David Givens, one of eight third down conversions by the Patriots on the day.

“It was awesome,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “Third down conversion after third down conversion after third down conversion. It was just consistent football.”.

Ironically, New England needed only two third down conversions on its longest scoring drive, the 14-play, 96-yard grinder to start the fourth quarter.

“When we’re able to put drives like that together, it can only help us. It can only help our defense, let them get rested up and make the adjustments they need,” said center Dan Koppen.

The defense appreciated the offense’s thoughtfulness.

“(Indianapolis’) offense is pretty used to controlling and dictating the game. This time they couldn’t,” said safety Rodney Harrison. “For them to sit on the sideline and watch our offense control the clock and really dictate the game, it’s very frustrating… on their part.”

“It’s tough. Fourteen play drives are too long,” said Colts linebacker Cato June. “That means we are not getting off the field on third down, which we have to do. It hurts our defense by tiring us out and we are not getting the ball back to our offense for the extra chance.”

By the time New England lined up for Tom Brady’s one yard plunge in the end zone for the game-clinching score, Indy’s defense was already beaten and broken.

“I think that’s just inevitable. When you put long drives together, you’re going to wear them down a little bit,” Koppen said. “We were able to just keep on them and keep pushing them.”