The favorite quote mentioned by Patriots fans when people bag on our defense is that it’s a “bend don’t break” style. So yeah, we give up a lot of yards and first downs (i.e. the bend part which feels like we’re getting bent over and violated) before buttoning up when it counts most and holding teams to field goals or no points.
Cold Hard Football Facts has the Pats at 8th overall in Bendability which is just about the only stat I can find out there that gives any sort of a warm, fuzzy feeling about the defense. Even when you look at red zone defense, which should probably also be pretty good if you’re not “breaking”, the Pats are ranked 24th.
Everywhere else you look at stats for the Pats D and they’re not good. The closest thing I can find where they aren’t in the 20s is Defensive Passer Rating where they’re ranked 19th.
In their all-important Defensive Hog index, which CHFF says is the best stat to predict Super Bowl success, the Pats are ranked 27th.
So yes, I know stats are for losers, and the numbers have been getting better over the past few weeks, but let’s not start planning the Super Bowl parade just yet.