Kicker Stephen Gostkowski puts the Patriots on the board with this second-quarter field goal last night in a losing effort against the Colts.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

INDIANAPOLIS — The Patriots managed to hang on to the football, but gave away the game.

They did a great job of controlling the clock last night against the Colts, but lost control of their emotions and, at least in the case of coach Bill Belichick, one could argue their senses, as well.

With sole possession of first place in the AFC East in their grasp following the Bills loss to the Jets in Buffalo earlier in the day, the Pats let victory slip through their hands as surely as Jabar Gaffney dropped a guaranteed touchdown pass in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Belichick, too, dropped the ball.

Just when it appeared quarterback Matt Cassel — who, once again, did a fine job of “managing” the game — had picked up a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Indianapolis’ 7 with the Pats trailing by three points, 15-12, a little more than three minutes into the fourth quarter, the officials waved off the play because Belichick had called a timeout.

Which happened to be New England’s last one, Belichick already having blown one by futilely protesting the Colts had 12 men on the field in the third quarter.

“That was a big play,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said, “the challenge that wound up costing them a timeout.”

Belichick then decided not to go for the first down and a possible six points, instead opting for the sure three, which came on a 25-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

“We didn’t get a very good look at the (third-down) spot,” Belichick said, by way of explanation. “Once we saw what the distance was, it just seemed better to go for the (three) points.”

As it turned out, the Patriots would need more, as Adam Vinatieri — remember him? — booted a 52-yard field goal for the decisive points with 8:05 remaining.

New England appeared on its way to at least tying the game on the ensuing possession, driving — as they had most of the night — slowly, but surely, down the field.

Until, that is, their drive was ruined by a personal foul call against tight end David Thomas for pushing an Indianapolis player after the whistle.

“That really cost us,” Thomas acknowledged afterwards.

Instead of a third-and-1 at the Colts’ 31, the Patriots found themselves in a third-and-16 situation.

When a short toss to running back Kevin Faulk gained only a yard, Belichick decided to go for it on fourth down — a decision that resulted in an interception by Bob Sanders at the 25.

That, for all intents and purposes, ended a game that, if the Patriots didn’t exactly deserve to win, certainly could have — and probably should have — won.

They controlled the ball for 34:24, with 29:57 of that coming in the last three quarters.

The problem was that, for all the time they had it, the Patriots didn’t do enough with it. While it’s great to be able to hold on to the football — especially when the alternative is to turn it over to future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning — it’s much better to get it into the end zone.

Which the Patriots did only once.

They had two drives of 13 plays apiece in the first half — one of which consumed 6:58, the other, 6:18 — but came away with only two field goals and trailed at the break, 7-6.

The second half was frustratingly similar.

New England scored its only touchdown on a 72-yard drive following the second-half kickoff, eating up 7:48 while covering 72 yards in 15 plays.

That gave the Patriots a 12-7 lead and resulted in another Belichick decision that will be second-guessed at least until the Bills come into Foxboro next Sunday with first place in the division at stake.

Figuring that a 2-point conversion would put his team up by a touchdown, Belichick elected to go for two. Probably entering into that decision was the fact that the Pats were 3-for-3 on 2-pointers over the last two years. This time, though, they didn’t make it, as Kevin Faulk was stopped just short of the goal line.

“The score (dictated the decision,” Belichick said. “It didn’t look like this game was going to have a lot of possessions, and it didn’t.”

The Pats had another 15-play possession that extended from late in the third quarter into the fourth, but, as had happened in the first half, they wound up settling for three points.

Of course, they might have had seven, had Belichick not nullified Cassel’s fourth-down plunge for a first down at the Indy 5 by calling that last time out.

It wasn’t a good night for the Head Man, what with that timeout, the one he was charged on the challenge, the failure to pick up the two-point conversion, and the necessity of passing on fourth-and-15 late in the game because there were no timeouts remaining.

Combine those questionable decisions with Gaffney’s costly drop, and Thomas’ foolish penalty, and that was the difference in a game the Patriots gave away, despite doing such a good job of hanging on to the football.

jdonalds@projo.com