Dominique Easley lived up to the hype Sunday night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time than the New England Patriots’ 34-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Patriots fans have waited for Easley to make his presence felt in the passing game since he was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. His rookie season was cut short due to injury, and he had just one pressure coming into Week 6 after making a bigger impact as a run defender early in the year.
It all came together against the Colts, however, when he had eight total pressures, including .5 sack. He said after the game Chandler Jones has been helping him with his pass-rush technique. Jones also had his best game of the season as a pass rusher with 2.5 sacks.
Check out this week’s advanced passing stats:
PASS COVERAGE
Game stats:
Malcolm Butler: 5-12, 72 yards, TD, three PBUs
Logan Ryan: 5-9, 51 yards, TD
Devin McCourty: 4-9, 46 yards, TD, pass interference
Justin Coleman: 1-2, 27 yards
Patrick Chung: 3-3, 22 yards
Jonathan Freeny: 3-4, 21 yards
Jamie Collins: 2-4, 21 yards, PBU
Duron Harmon: PBU
— The Patriots frequently used Chung as a slot corner on No. 1 receiver T.Y. Hilton. The safety held up well. I asked on Twitter this morning, “Who saw that coming?” Because Chung typically is used in man coverage on tight ends. It was a smart wrinkle head coach Bill Belichick threw out on a top opponent. Chung’s response was appropriate.
— Chung has been one of the Patriots’ best coverage players for two consecutive seasons. He also helped shut down Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten last week.
— McCourty matched up frequently on tight end Coby Fleener. McCourty has his second consecutive impressive performance in man coverage.
— Butler had a solid showing, despite giving up 72 yards and a touchdown. He continues to display his impressive ball skills with three pass breakups.
— Harmon played most of the game at free safety and protected the deep half of the field very well in place of McCourty.
— The Patriots played most of the game with three safeties and just two cornerbacks. Coleman came on late
Season stats:
Malcolm Butler: 18-32, 329 yards, 4 TDs, INT, 7 PBUs
Logan Ryan: 14-23, 142 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Bradley Fletcher: 7-10, 124 yards, 1 TD, 1 DPI
Justin Coleman: 4-7, 97 yards
Devin McCourty: 9-17, 96 yards, TD, INT, pass interference
Jamie Collins: 11-18, 80 yards, PBU
Tarell Brown: 7-14, 70 yards
Patrick Chung: 8-15, 52 yards, TD, PBU, pass interference
Jerod Mayo: 4-4, 49 yards
Dont’a Hightower: 4-7, 39 yards
Jonathan Freeny: 5-6, 32 yards
Rob Ninkovich: 3-5, 25 yards
Jordan Richards: 1-3, 6 yards, TD
Duron Harmon: 2 INTs, PBU
Chandler Jones: PBU
PASS RUSH
Game stats:
Dominique Easley: eight pressures, .5 sack, four QB hits, three hurries
Chandler Jones: seven pressures, 2.5 sacks, three QB hits, one hurry
Rob Ninkovich: three pressures, two QB hits, one hurry
Sealver Siliga: one pressure, one QB hit
Jabaal Sheard: one pressure, one hurry
— Easley stepped up with injuries to linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive end Jabaal Sheard.
— Collins received opportunities as a rusher but wasn’t as effective without Hightower in the game.
— Jones now is second in the NFL in sacks with 5.5 on the season.
Season stats:
Chandler Jones: 19 pressures, 5.5 sacks, six QB hits, seven hurries
Jabaal Sheard: 19 pressures, four sacks, three QB hits, 12 hurries
Rob Ninkovich: 12 pressures, one sack, three QB hit, eight hurries
Jamie Collins: nine pressures, 3.5 sacks, one QB hit, four hurries
Dominique Easley: nine pressures, .5 sack, four QB hits, four hurries
Dont’a Hightower: seven pressures, 2.5 sacks, four hurries
Alan Branch: two pressures, one sack, one hurry
Geneo Grissom: two pressures, one QB hit, one hurry
Malcom Brown: two pressures, one sack, one hurry
Sealver Siliga: two pressures, one QB hit, one hurry
Logan Ryan: one pressure, one QB hit
Rufus Johnson: one pressure, one hurry
Justin Coleman: one pressure, one hurry
PASS PROTECTION
Game stats:
Cameron Fleming: QB hit, three hurries
Sebastian Vollmer: QB hit, hurry
Tom Brady: sack
Unblocked: sack
Josh Kline: QB hit
Shaq Mason: QB hit
— Fleming allowed the most pressure, but he still held up well while essentially taking on a starting role.
— Rookie center David Andrews and guard Tre’ Jackson didn’t allow a single pressure.
— Sebastian Vollmer blocked well at left tackle after Marcus Cannon came out with a toe injury and could take on the role full-time with Nate Solder out for the season.
— The Colts only sent three pass rushers at times, clogging the middle of the field.
— Both of the Colts’ sacks came on blitzes. Brady held onto the ball for too long on both plays.
Season stats:
Nate Solder: three sacks, three QB hits, 10 hurries
Marcus Cannon: two sacks, one QB hit, 10 hurries
Sebastian Vollmer: two sacks, three QB hits, eight hurries
Shaq Mason: sack, three QB hits, two hurries
David Andrews: one sack, two QB hits, one hurry
Josh Kline: one sack, three QB hits, two hurries
Cameron Fleming: QB hit, three hurries
Tre’ Jackson: one QB hit, one hurry
Tom Brady: two sacks
Dion Lewis: one sack
Unblocked: one sack
PASSING GAME
Brady threw 14 total incompletions against the Colts, and five were because of inaccurate passes. The Patriots dropped four passes, and five incompletions were caused by the Colts’ pass defense.
Here’s each incompletion charted:
1. Thrown in front of Rob Gronkowski with good coverage
2. Drop by Dion Lewis
3. Drop by Julian Edelman
4. Pass breakup by Greg Toler on pass to Edelman
5. High throw to Danny Amendola
6. Wide throw to Amendola
7. Drop by Edelman on pick six
8. Thrown behind Edelman
9. Drop by Lewis
10. Tipped at the line
11. Pass breakup by Toler on pass to Scott Chandler
12. Pass breakup by Toler on pass to James White
13. Pass high to Keshawn Martin
14. Tipped at the line
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
