This time, defense was a hit, too – The Boston Globe

I know this victory will be undercut all week, but here’s a positive look at the defense’s performance from Bedard.

The Patriots flew all over the field and, statistically, hit all their marks. The Broncos only converted 39 percent of their third downs. The Patriots held Denver to a season-low 252 total yards, and after it gained 252 on the ground during the first meeting, New England almost cut that in half to 144. The Patriots tied a season high with five sacks, had 14 plays for losses of 54 yards, and three quarterback hits. The Patriots were robust, and what was even better is that they took the field with a mentality that it was going to happen. That’s something we haven’t seen in some time. The Patriots knew they would shut down the Broncos, and they did it.