The Patriots took away the Falcons’ three most dangerous weapons and pitched a second-half shutout in their 26-10 victory Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
“To hold an offense like this to 10 points is definitely a confidence booster,” Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden said.
Atlanta running back Michael Turner was held to 56 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. It was tied for his third lowest yardage total in 19 games with the Falcons, and it was the fewest yards he has had since Week 6 of 2008. Future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, who entered Sunday’s game leading the Falcons with 12 receptions, 144 yards and two touchdowns, was limited to one reception for 16 yards, and he was only targeted twice in the game. It was the first time he was held to one catch in three years. And wide receiver Roddy White had just four receptions for 24 yards, his lowest yardage total since 2007.
The Patriots’ game plan was to take Turner out of the game, and he was hardly a factor. They made the Falcons’ offense one-dimensional, and New England completely contained Atlanta’s passing attack. Gonzalez was either double-teamed or bracketed by a zone defense, and safeties Brandon Meriweather and Brandon McGowan rotated in man coverage on the tight end.
“Up front, they held down the run game,” McGowan said, “and when you make a team be one-dimensional and know what they’re running, it’s hard to just pass knowing that you’re not running the ball. We just locked those guys up.”
The Falcons scored on two of their first three possessions, and Turner’s touchdown made it 10-10 with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter. McGowan forced Turner to fumble on Atlanta’s next possession, though, and the Patriots’ defense really picked it up from there.
Atlanta ran just 15 offensive plays in the second half, accumulated 63 total yards and two first downs, and they only had the ball for 6:21 after the break (the Patriots’ ball-control offense deserves an assist there). After the Patriots took a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter and the Falcons were forced to rely more heavily on the passing game, New England’s defense didn’t allow a single first down during Atlanta’s two possessions.
“Just the intensity,” Bodden said, when asked what the Patriots improved as the game wore on. “We knew what they were going to do. We just wanted to come out in the second half and play better than we did in the first half. Last week [against the New York Jets], we really didn’t come out to a good start in the second half, and we really wanted to emphasize that. The defense rallied around each other and really played well.”
Already without middle linebacker Jerod Mayo, the Patriots’ defense took another hit in the first half when defensive tackle Vince Wilfork went down with an ankle injury. Even without their run-stuffing monster, the Patriots contained Turner, stuck with their game plan and suffocated an offense that arrived in Foxborough tied for fifth in the NFL in points scored.
The Patriots’ defense has allowed 43 points through three games, and the 50 points allowed this season (including Buffalo defensive end Aaron Schobel’s interception return for a touchdown in Week 1) are their third fewest through three games in the Bill Belichick era. While the Patriots’ offense has struggled at times to stay in rhythm, the defense has been their most consistent unit during the first month of the season.
“It was big,” McGowan said of the defensive effort. “Last week, we didn’t do so well, so this week we just told ourselves we’ve got to come out and play ball. That’s what we did as a whole.”
