FOXBORO, Mass. — Will the New England Patriots fans who thought their team would be annihilated by the Atlanta Falcons please stand up? Nevermind, can’t see you through the fog anyway.
The Patriots’ defense was not carved up by quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense. In fact, it was the polar opposite. The Patriots’ defense had their best performance of the season by far. And though doubts certainly still will creep up if the Patriots’ defense begins to give up chunk plays again in the future, they at least should have instilled some confidence in their fanbase after beating the Falcons 23-7 in the Super Bowl LI rematch.
Is the Patriots’ defense good enough to win a Super Bowl? If they keep playing like they did Sunday night, of course.
Here are this week’s standouts.
QB TOM BRADY
The Patriots’ quarterback didn’t play his best game, but 21-of-29 for 249 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions is none too shabby. He outplayed his Falcons counterpart, Matt Ryan, who went 23-of-33 for 233 yards with a touchdown.
RB DION LEWIS
Lewis continued to look like the Patriots’ best running back. He carried the ball 13 times for 76 yards and caught one pass for 6 yards.
The Patriots’ offensive line and other running backs deserve some credit, as well. The team picked up 162 yards on 36 carries, including three kneel downs.
CBs JOHNSON BADEMOSI, MALCOLM BUTLER
These Patriots cornerbacks were tasked with trying to cover All-Pro wideout Julio Jones and outplayed expectations, at least for three quarters. Jones caught nine passes on 13 targets for 99 yards with a touchdown
Bademosi allowed four total catches on five targets for 37 yards with a pass breakup. Butler let up five total catches on six targets for 44 yards with a pass breakup and touchdown.
Bademosi finished with seven total tackles, while Butler had six.
It wasn’t perfect for either player, but they helped prevent big plays to Jones, who is a threat to go to the house on any pass from Ryan.
Bademosi? More like Not Bademosi. Bademosi? More like Goodemosi.
FS DURON HARMON
Harmon also shadowed Jones across the field, helping to double-cover the big wideout. He let up two catches on three targets for 22 yards with a pass breakup.
DT ADAM BUTLER
Butler recorded his first career sack, the Patriots’ only such play of the game. He was forced to take extra snaps after defensive tackle Malcom Brown suffered an ankle injury.
LB KYLE VAN NOY
Something has gotten into Van Noy in the past two games. He’s playing his best football of the season. He led the team with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss Sunday night.
Van Noy forced a turnover on downs by stuffing Falcons wideout Taylor Gabriel for a 5-yard loss on fourth-and-goal.
THE FOG
If the fog was as difficult to see through on the field as it was from the press box, then it was playing defense almost as well as the Patriots.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
