The New England Patriots finally appeased their fanbase and critics by showing a semblance of a pass rush in Sunday’s 41-25 win over the Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots’ pass rush wasn’t dominant — recording just two sacks — but at least it was present, which is more than can be said about recent weeks.
The increase in pressure helped the Patriots’ secondary hold Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to under 200 yards. It was another strong, yet imperfect, performance by the Patriots’ defense.
Here are our takeaways from the Patriots’ pass defense and offensive air attack after re-watching Sunday’s game.
PASS COVERAGE
Eric Rowe: 3-6, 54 yards, two defensive pass interference penalties, illegal contact (63 yards)
Elandon Roberts: 3-3, 36 yards
Patrick Chung: 3-3, 34 yards
Shea McClellin: 1-1, 25 yards
Jamie Collins: 2-2, 16 yards
Justin Coleman: 1-3, 15 yards, defensive pass interference (19 yards)
Malcolm Butler: 2-8, 15 yards, PBU, illegal hands to the face (5 yards)
Logan Ryan: 1-3, 12 yards
Jabaal Sheard: 1-1, 3 yards
Dont’a Hightower: 1-2, 2 yards
Rob Ninkovich: 1-2, 0 yards
Devin McCourty: 0-3, PBU
— Rowe entered the game as the No. 2 cornerback but was benched for Ryan and Coleman after he was flagged twice. He could be relegated to No. 3 or 4 cornerback duties after the bye week.
— Ryan was solid after down performances against the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. He looks like he’s regained the No. 2 role.
— Malcolm Butler continues to play like an elite cornerback.
— Devin McCourty has put together a very nice string of games. He always seems to dominate Bills tight end Charles Clay.
— Roberts took many first-down snaps over Collins. Roberts isn’t the same type of coverage player as Collins.
PASS RUSH
Dont’a Hightower: four QB hits, hurry (five pressures)
Chris Long: four hurries (four pressures)
Trey Flowers: two sacks, hurry (three pressures)
Jamie Collins: two QB hits, hurry (three pressures)
Malcom Brown: QB hit, two hurries (three pressures)
Alan Branch: QB hit, two hurries (three pressures)
Jabaal Sheard: three hurries (three pressures)
Rob Ninkovich: three hurries (three pressures)
Shea McClellin: two hurries (two pressures)
Patrick Chung: QB hit (one pressures)
Barkevious Mingo: QB hit (one pressures)
Malcolm Butler: hurry (one pressures)
— The Patriots’ pass rush recorded two sacks and was much better in general compared to recent weeks.
— Hightower and Collins both brought heat up the middle. When the Patriots want to unleash their pass rush, all they have to do is send Hightower.
— Branch and Brown brought more pressure than usual from inside.
— Flowers recorded the first two sacks of his career.
PASS PROTECTION
Joe Thuney: two QB hits, four hurries (six pressures)
Nate Solder: three sacks, QB hit, hurry (five pressures)
David Andrews: two QB hits, two hurries (four pressures)
Marcus Cannon: two hurries (two pressures)
Shaq Mason: sack, hurry (two pressures)
James White: hurry (one pressure)
— The left side of the line (Thuney and Solder) struggled, but Kyle Williams is really, really good, so it’s kind of to be excused.
— Cannon’s strong season continued. He mostly stonewalled Jerry Hughes.
— Ted Karras played the last offensive series over Andrews, which means the starting center no longer has played 100 percent of snaps.
PASS ACCURACY
1. Thrown away under pressure
2. Thrown out of bounds to Rob Gronkowski
3. Broken screen to James White
4. Thrown wide to White
5. Overthrow to Gronkowski
6. Throwaway toward Julian Edelman
7. Thrown away shallow toward Danny Amendola
8. Thrown wide to Edelman
9. Thrown out of end zone to Edelman
10. Underthrown to Edelman
11. Thrown wide to White
— Brady threw four passes away, was inaccurate on six passes, and the Patriots had one broken play.
— The Patriots didn’t drop any passes Sunday. They’ve had a low drop rate all season.
— Brady was 3 of 8 for 124 yards with two touchdowns on deep balls.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
