FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots were able to improve to 5-4 on the season with a comfortable 26-3 defeat of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Several players, specifically on defense, had standout games in the win. Here are five heroes from Sunday's win.

Matthew Judon

Matthew Judon might just be the best edge rusher in the NFL, and he got going from the jump on Sunday.

On the Patriots' first defensive play of the game, Judon delayed his blitz for a split second and caught the right side of the Colts' offensive line off guard to sack Colts QB Sam Ehlinger. He got in again for a sack two plays later, but that was negated due to a penalty on the Patriots.

That didn't matter though because Judon continued to find his way into the Colts' backfield. In the Colts' second drive of the game, Judon faked going outside before rushing inside to record his second sack of the game on a third-and-8.

Judon again sacked Ehlinger on a third-down play in the third quarter, getting to the quarterback untouched on a third-and-7 that forced the Colts to settle for their only three points of the game.

Judon also made an impact in the run game, too. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Judon made a strong tackle of Colts running back Deon Jackson on a fourth-and-1 to record the stuff after safety Kyle Dugger helped set the edge. Judon's inconsistency in the run game has often been criticized since he joined the Patriots last season, but plays like those are an encouraging sign that he can be a well-rounded player.

Still, Judon makes his money as a pass rusher and he had three sacks on Sunday. He's well in front for the lead in NFL sacks with 11.5 after Sunday's game. Week in and week out, nobody has been more consistent on the Patriots than Judon.

Jonathan Jones

If Judon was the one that was most responsible for keeping the Colts off the board, then Jonathan Jones was the one most responsible for getting the Patriots on the board.

Jones has had a breakout season as he's moved to outside corner on a full-time basis for the first time in his carer. But it was a play on special teams he made that helped changed the game. After the Patriots forced the Colts to go three-and-out in the middle of the second quarter, Jones blocked Matt Haack's punt with Brenden Schooler recovering the ball to place New England at Indianapolis' 2-yard line. The play set the Patriots up to score their first touchdown of the game and take a 13-0 lead.

In the final stages of the fourth quarter, Jones found himself at the right place at the right time. Ehlinger had a pass tipped that landed in the hands of Jones, who secured the ball while falling to the ground and ran 17 yards into the end zone for the Patriots' second touchdown of the game, which gave them a 26-3 lead.

Jones was part of a Patriots secondary that allowed Ehlinger to throw for just 103 yards on Sunday, further showing his impact on the field.

Josh Uche

The Patriots tied a post-merger franchise record for sacks on Sunday and while Judon had his fair share, he couldn't have done it alone.

Third-year linebacker Josh Uche was the other Patriots defensive player that was heavily in the mix in getting into the backfield. He recorded three sacks in Sunday's game, making it just the second time in franchise history that the Patriots have had two players record three sacks in a game.

Uche's first sack of the game came when he sped rush right by Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann for an easy sack on a third down late in the first half.

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Uche recorded his second sack of the game when he sat in his spot on the edge, waiting for Ehlinger to roll to his left and met the quarterback near the sideline and pushed him out of bounds on a third down play. The sack forced the Colts to kick a field goal, which they missed. Finally, Uche completed the hat trick late in the third quarter when he waited for Ehlinger to step up into the pocket, meeting the quarterback as he was thinking about taking off for a scramble.

With Sunday's performance, Uche matched his sack total from last season in just one game and has recorded four sacks over the last two games. His performance opposite of Judon's could be what the Patriots need to get a consistent pass rush going as the season enters the second half, something they lacked last season.

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Ja'Whaun Bentley

The Patriots' middle linebacker was all over the field on Sunday. He was making plays as a run-stopper, recording nine combined tackles, with six of them being solo. He was also used as a blitzer up the middle to get a sack on another third down play for the Patriots which was one of the two quarterback hits he recorded on Sunday.

Bentley's arguably been the Patriots' most consistent player outside of Judon and has been a stabilizing force at linebacker all season long, a position that many thought the team would struggle at entering the season.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Sunday's game was an uninspiring performance for the Patriots' offense. They had just 203 yards of total offense as the offensive line appeared to be a mess again for the second consecutive week with a few players being shuffled around.

But Stevenson continued to prove why he's the MVP of the Patriots' offense on Sunday. He made multiple plays happen when they looked dead in the water, including a 16-yard pickup on a second-and-20 following a holding penalty. He also scored the Patriots' only offensive touchdown of the game when he ran a perfectly executed out route to catch a pass from Mac Jones for a three-yard score.

Stevenson finished the game with 60 rushing yards on 15 carries and had three receptions for 10 yards, which isn't too bad considering that he didn't have Damien Harris to work along with on Sunday.