The Patriots defense pitched their first shutout since 2012 in Week 17. Before that you have to go all the way back to the snow blowout of the Titans in 2009. So there was plenty to like from this performance, especially against a revamped Houston offense that is not without their fair share of threats.
The biggest schematic adjustment this week came in the form of a shift toward more Cover-2, which put Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon over the top on both sides of the field. This took away the deep passing game that was so vital to the Texans in their first two games.
The Pats primarily played out of a three-safety set because of this, putting more pressure on the front six to stop the run, but they did just that.
The result was pretty much a start-to-finish domination that laid to rest some of the uneasiness we felt after the Pats were torched in the second halves of their first two games.
Here’s what else stood out from the defensive film review… [Read more…] about Patriots vs. Texans Film Review: Defense Edition