The Patriots and their defense, more alive than ever

On a black Sunday for those who like to gamble, the Patriots were one of the few teams that did not disappoint.

Dallas and Buffalo, favorites by 10 and 14.5 points to win their games against Denver and Buffalo, respectively, had scored a combined six points after three quarters and ended in defeat on a day full of upsets.

But New England was not one of those teams that fell into the trap and maintained their perfect record on the road (4-0), with a 24-6 win at Carolina.

Little by little, without making much noise, the New England defense begins to take over the top positions in the most important categories.

The Patriots are Top 10 in yards allowed per game (340.3), passing yards (231.4) and points per game (18.9), a statistic in which they are fourth in the NFL. It is, in short, the typical defense of Bill Belichick.

That’s what the coach / general manager bet on when in free agency he got players like OLB Matt Judon, DT Davon Godchaux and ILB Kyle Van Noy, among others.

On Sunday, Judon recorded his ninth sack of the season and is nowhere near breaking his personal best of 9.5 sacks, which he achieved in 2019 with the Baltimore Ravens.

In fact, the defense gave the Patriots six points when JC Jackson he returned an interception 88 yards to the end zone.

Jackson does not have the publicity of other corners in the NFL, but in Carolina he achieved his fourth game with two interceptions and now has 22 in his first four years in the league, something that in the history of the franchise he had only achieved Mike haynes.

He has five interceptions in the middle of the 2021 season, his third year in a row with at least five picks.

To put things in perspective Xavien Howard, from Miami, has 20 interceptions, two fewer than Jackson, since the cornerback was signed as a rookie free agent by the Patriots in 2018.

New England leads in interceptions with 13, and fourth with 16 turnovers.

Mac Jones is the one

On the other side of the ball Mac Jones he improves week by week and begins to become everything Belichick expects from the Alabama rookie.

Without being spectacular, Jones has been the best quarterback in the Class of 2021. He has completed 68% of his passes for 2,135 yards, with 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a rating of 89.8.

Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, has 8 touchdown passes, 9 interceptions and 73.6 rating points.

In New England, the plan is not for Jones to throw four touchdown passes every Sunday. No, the plan is simple: Jones has to avoid scoring mistakes and try to put at least 21 points on the Patriots’ side.

Hand in hand with the rookie, New England’s offense averages 25.6 points per game. More than enough.

Jones is the first rookie quarterback to win his first four road games since Dak prescott did so in 2016. The record of six is ​​shared by Prescott and Ben roethlisberger (2004).

The Patriots are 5-4 and if the season ended today, they would qualify as one of the Wild Cards, leaving Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Denver on the edge.

Merit of Belichick and his great defense.