New England Patriots 4 Downs Review: Week 7 @ New York Jets
3rd Down: Keep rolling on defense
The New England Patriots defense is performing on a level that we have not seen from this team in quite some time. Yes, they have been great and even dominant at times over the years, but this season they are on a different level.
“They’re playing great, just playing great football,” Brady said of his defense, again via the press conference shared on the team’s official website. “They’re doing a great job. They cover, rush, stop the run, and make critical plays. It’s awesome to watch.”
Brady is absolutely right – this New England Patriots D is fun to watch. Let’s use last night as an example.
First things first, the defense didn’t allow the Jets to score a single point. They gave up a total of 154 yards to the Jets offense (73 through the air and 81 on the ground). Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, Terrence Brooks, and Duron Harmon all had interceptions off of Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who was caught on ESPN’s microphones saying “I’m seeing ghosts,” during the game.
John Simon had the lone Patriots sack on the evening, but he also forced a fumble that was quickly recovered by Kyle Van Noy. The final turnover for the Patriots was a muffed punt by ex-New England wideout Braxton Berrios that was recovered on special teams by perennial Pro Bowler Matthew Slater.
McCourty later said the following to the media during his own press conference (again via the team’s official website):
"“It’s been all year. We talk about being aggressive, we talk about trying to make our own plays defensively and not just sitting back and waiting. Those guys do a good job of it. I think it’s our overall understanding of the defense. At times, it can be a safety, it can be one of the backs or one of the linemen. Understanding that it can keep switching. That makes it tough on teams. We just have to keep doing those things. (We) understand now, seven games in, teams have more film on us. They’re going to design things (that are) different. We have to be ready to adjust, we have to be ready to continue to be versatile with our personnel and still try to make plays.”"