**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.