New England Patriots at Denver Broncos: Breaking Down the Matchups
By Hal Bent
Patriots Defensive Game Plan
New England needs to follow the same plan they used against Baltimore last week: stuff the run with a strong and disciplined front four and then bring pressure on third down while stifling the top targets with Malcolm Butler and the secondary.
Last week Malcom Brown, Alan Branch, and the front seven held Baltimore to just 42 yards rushing while forcing a safety and helping the offense overcome a slow start to still jump out to an early lead. The defensive ends did a solid job maintaining the edge and the New England linebackers pounced on the ball-carriers.
Smart blitzing and dropping linebackers and defensive ends into coverage confused veteran Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. At the same time, cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan (and even Cyrus Jones stepping in for the injured Eric Rowe) had a strong game in coverage of veterans Steve Smith and MIke Wallace and young speedster Breshad Perriman.
Thomas and Sanders are a handful and the Patriots’ cornerbacks will need help from safeties Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon in coverage. The Broncos will need to get production in the passing game from tight end A.J. Derby and running backs Justin Forsett and Devontae Booker going against safety Patrick Chung and linebackers Shea McClellin and Kyle Van Noy.
More from Musket Fire
- Patriots get steal of the night with perfect first round pick
- What trading Mac Jones during the draft can do for the Patriots
- Best and worst draft picks during the Bill Belichick era
- Early round Patriots draft picks you’ll hate now, love later
- Musket Fire Roundup: Our own final predictions for round 1
The Patriots’ defense will need to tackle well and keep Derby, the running backs, and other wide receivers from extending drives while focusing on Sanders and Thomas in coverage. If the Patriots play like they did last week, they should have little difficulty slowing the Denver offense on Sunday.
Advantage: New England Patriots
Score Prediction: New England Patriots 23 – Denver Broncos 13