The New England Patriots vaporized the Atlanta Falcons into another dimension on Thursday Night Football this week, the fifth consecutive opponent they’ve dispatched thanks to efficient offense and a chaotically powerful defense.
A defense so crush-worthy it can only be described accurately by pass-rush specialist Matt Judon.
The unit’s been performing to the best of its abilities in every way in 2021, and though it seems outlandish how good they’ve been, we probably should’ve seen it coming. After all, the 2020 defense was … pretty great, but the headless offense let them down, leaving the Patriots somewhat stuck in the mud.
Another year of development for Kyle Dugger and JC Jackson, though, plus the additions of Judon, Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore, and you have … a group of massive a-holes.
No, no, that’s what Judon said! I’m only quoting. Sorry if this is one of those scenarios where you’re only allowed to say it if you’ve been in the trenches with ’em all year long, but that’s what he said.
Matt Judon: "We kind of want to be a-holes on the field, but good guys off the field, and make sure we don’t get penalized. We play within the rules, but we’re a nasty group. That’s how we like to play and that’s how we gotta play in order for our team to win." #Patriots
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) November 19, 2021
Matt Judon thinks the Patriots defense is a nice group of a-holes.
Judon, of course, is right.
You know what a bunch of a-holes would do? Not allow their opponents even a smidgen of hope, whether they’re in the red zone or backed up against their own end zone.
Know what else a bunch of a-holes would do? Intercept Matt Ryan twice at the end of the game to ice it, then once it’s been iced, intercept Josh Rosen and Feleipe Franks just to make a point about how impenetrable you are.
Matty Ice is an NFL quarterback, but those other two guys … they’re just dudes! Dudes trying to get their sea legs and make an honest buck. Nope! Picked. Embarrassing. Go home. The a-holes run this field.
It’s been that way for quite a while, though. When you’re facing the Patriots defense, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. 19 straight possessions without a single point. Four straight drives ending in takeaways. And they’re better at scoring themselves than the offenses they face.
Necessary update: The Patriots defense hasn't allowed a point in 19 consecutive possessions. Over the last 26 possessions, the Patriots defense has scored 13 points and allowed 7.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 19, 2021
The job is far from finished, but with two games left on the docket against Josh Allen and the Bills, Judon and his fire-breathing friends can take a page from Jacksonville’s Josh Allen and make his life a living hell. They control their own destiny.
Now, maybe the defense should sit down with Mac Jones and have a little talk about how to be nasty within the confines of the rules, but otherwise, everything looks to be in line here.
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