Patriots Film Review: Defense Strangles out Pack

Upon further review, the defense’s performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense was a classic kind of win. Did they give up a few long scoring drives? Yup, three to be exact. But they kept the ground game under control, didn’t allow any big scoring plays and withstood the storm until the second half when they grabbed a turnover, forced a timely three-and-out and set the stage for the Patriots’ offense to pull away.

This is always how it seems to go when the Pats face classic QBs like Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger to name a few.

Despite the Jaguars and Lions hiccups, this has been a defense reborn and they getting better every week. It’s impressive and exciting to watch. Especially the Trey Flowers part of it.

No doubt there are still improvements to be made but this is a solid defense no matter how you slice it. Here’s how the Pats D strangled out the Pack.

First, a quick look at where their stats are at:

• Points: 22.4 (11th)
• Third Down: 43.2 (27th)
• Takeaways: 17 (4th)
• Red Zone: 58.6 (15th)
• DVOA: 13th overall (8th vs run, 18th vs pass)

The key play in breaking a competitive 17-17 tie game came at an on-the-nose point – the first play of the fourth quarter. Lawrence Guy‘s athletic play downfield allowed him to punch the ball out. Gilmore recovered and the Patriots had the spark they needed to pull away. It’s this kind of opportune playmaking that has often shown up over the last 18 seasons. It’s not luck or an accident. The Belichick defenses are nothing if not patient and opportunistic. And they play all four quarters.

The second key moment for the defense came after the Patriots took the 24-17 lead with nine minutes left in the game. The Packers needed to respond, instead the Pats defense held them to a three-and out after Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn perfectly executed a stunt and finished off Rodgers. Trey Flowers is pretty much playing like the best defensive end in the game at the moment and I’m sick thinking about losing him in free agency because the Pats weren’t proactive enough. I’d give anything for an in-season extension. PLEASE!

The Packers would get the ball back suddenly down 31-17 with 7:20 left in the game. Despite the Pats hitting 30 this is still very much a game. Now, this is where the Bend Don’t Break really works. The Packers moved the ball but just 3:48 remained when Rodgers’ 4th down pass would fall incomplete. It took Green Bay three-and-a-half minutes to go 27 yards at a time where they desperately needed a big play. That’s vintage Patriots defense and right now this group is collectively playing outstanding football.

I don’t know what the hot takes on the defense are these days but anyone trying to tell you they’re not formidable is a dummy. You remember when the thing to say was that the Patriots’ defense doesn’t have a pass rusher you have to gameplan for? Guess what? They do now. And they’ve got a shutdown corner.