It was one of the most dominant defensive performances of the last decade and one that I couldn’t wait to jump into. The Patriots defense had a slow start to 2016, but with each passing week they’ve gotten better and better. In the last three games they have the second-best third down defense in the NFL, and have risen all the way from 28th early in the season to 7th overall on third down.
The emergence of Trey Flowers as veterans Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long got their games going now has the entire defensive front clicking. And don’t just take my word for it, here’s what Belichick had to say on Tuesday:
“I think in our case what I’ve seen from this team, especially defensively but really in all three phases of the game, is a commitment to work hard and get better. You take small steps every day. Those pile up after days, weeks and months together. I think that’s really what’s happening with our team is they’ve worked hard. They’ve improved, improved a little bit each day. They maybe improve a little bit each week in certain areas. I think we do things better now than we did a few weeks ago. We did them better a few weeks ago than we did them a couple of months ago, which is the way it should be.”
Let’s take a closer look at the All-22.
— Should’ve known it would be a big day for Trey Flowers when he tossed aside a double team from the guard-tackle aside on the first snap, then dropped into coverage and should’ve had a pass defended on the second. Everyone is singing his praises for his seven sacks, but that undersells how much he can do — pass rush from inside, play defensive end against the run, drop into coverage line an outside linebacker.
— Everyone was making fun of Emmanuel Sanders for saying Butler hadn’t shut him down because the Pats played a lot of Cover 2, but I did have them in three of four snaps on the first drive. This included the third down stop with Logan Ryan making a tough tackle to hold old pal AJ Derby short of the sticks. The strength of the Patriots just might be their tackling.
— The Pats subbed in Sheard and Long for Ninkovich and Flowers on the second drive. All showing great versatility.
— This right here is how you stop Denver zone running game. The entire defensive front stays on their feet, eliminating any creases. Jones’ aggressiveness helps spill the play even wider. When the running back has nowhere to go but out of bounds you played it perfectly. This set up a third-and-five, where the Pats would get their first red zone stop of the day and give up the only three points they’d allow.
— On that third down, Van Noy was in running back coverage, initially lining up over the right guard. As the running back motioned to the other side, Van Noy followed and at the snap had to run through traffic to pick him up in coverage. But he did so perfectly. Again, all that was talked about with him coming in was pass rush potential, when his biggest contribution has been covering running backs. This also was the first snap of man coverage they’ve played.
— On the third drive Van Noy stayed on a MLB, Ninkovich/Flowers came back on for Long/Sheard and McClellin subbed in for Hightower. Valentine also subbed in for Brown, while Branch stayed at nose.
— Van Noy had an impressive play, meeting the lineman in the hole, stacking and forcing the running back to stop dead in his tracks. I had to rewind it a couple times because Van Noy’s power was so unexpected, especially considering they were trying to attack him with the run since he’s been a primarily passing-down coverage/rusher.
— Tough to tell what went wrong on Heuerman’s 31-yard catch up the seam. Looked like Cover 2, but Chung broke on an out at the sticks and Simien threw to where he vacated.
— Hightower came on for the third-and-three of Ryan’s interception. It was his and Chris Long’s pass rush that didn’t give Siemian much room to step into the throw. Ryan got the pick because he was strong enough to deflect Sanders’ attempt to create separation and never turned his back on the quarterback. Huge play. Denver offense wouldn’t get that close to the end zone again.
— Flowers’ first sack came on 2nd-and-6 in the second quarter as Denver was driving again. It was just a three-man rush. The coverage made Siemian hold it and Flowers kept fighting until he pushed the right tackle aside and finished the play. That set up a 3rd-and-12 which Siemian managed to convert with a great pass at the sideline against Cover 2. Flowers was a beast the whole game, including this key fourth-quarter sack.
— Van Noy sniffed out what looked like a half assed screen on third down to take the Broncos out of field goal range. Siemian should’ve just thrown it away. If you’re not noticing, Van Noy is becoming an every down player.
— Pure power rush from Jabaal Sheard to get the sack on the first play of the second half. That set the tone. Sheard is coming on now. Also can’t understate how good an early down sack is from this defense. Sheard would later go with the same power rush and draw a hold early in the fourth quarter.
— A sack, then a third down drop on the first possession of the second half, and a bad holding penalty on the second possession. Those kind of negative plays were a huge boost.
— Deep shot to Sanders came against the Pats in Cover 3. Butler did a great job not losing his over-the-top coverage and was in perfect position to defend the pass. Just a few weeks ago he blew the same coverage against the Rams. Improvement.
— Deep shot to Thomas on the next possession, same thing, Cover 3. This time it’s Rowe who shows good recovery speed to break up the pass.
— Vincent Valentine has really shown a ton of progress this season and is now starting to exert his will. I was scratching my head after the Pats drafted him but he’s been a solid contributor as the third DT.
— McCourty’s fourth down hit that effectively sealed the win was an epic hit and the perfect cherry on top of this game.
The Patriots defense is playing well in all aspects now. They’re mixing coverages and fronts with ease and everyone is seamlessly flowing from one position to the next with equal effectiveness. It’s exciting to watch after they were such a flat bunch early this season.
The three playoff games will truly define what the 2016 defense’s legacy will be, but right now it’s hard not to feel really good about how they’ll play in January and (hopefully) February.
