Patriots Epitomizing ‘Bend But Don’t Break’ With Dominant Red-Zone Defense

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots allowed the fourth-most yards in the NFL during the regular season but the fifth-fewest points. How did they swing that? By being one of the best in the league at leaving the opposition disappointed in the red zone.

Patriots opponents scored touchdowns on just 43.8 percent of their trips inside New England’s 20-yard line — the fourth-best mark in the NFL and a significant improvement over the 2016 Patriots’ red-zone defense (52.8 percent).

Take out the first four games of the season — during which New England surrendered a league-worst 32 points per game and allowed touchdowns in nine of 14 red-zone opportunities — and that number drops to 35.1 percent. No NFL team finished below 36 percent for the full season.

How have the Patriots been so successful in what should be difficult situations for defenses? By employing an adage Pats fans have been hearing for years.

“We started saying that we might bend, but we’re not going to break,” cornerback Eric Rowe explained Wednesday. “Even if you do get a touchdown in the red zone, OK, we’re going to make you go 1-for-4. It’s not going to be field goals to beat us. Just when we get down there, everyone’s awareness heightens up, and we just try to roll with the momentum that we have in the red zone.”

During an eight-game win streak that stretched from Week 5 to Week 13, Patriots opponents went 8-for-24 in the red zone, finding the end zone in just one-third of their trips inside the 20. The Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers turned in solid red-zone efforts in Weeks 14 and 15 (5-for-8 combined), but New England closed out the regular season with a return to form, holding the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets to four field goals and a turnover on downs in their five red-zone chances.

“Even big plays, penalties, they’re driving — somehow, when we get within that 20, we all just kind of heighten up, and everybody’s confidence moves up,” Rowe said. “We know we need to make this stop, make them kick a field goal. Because field goals aren’t going to beat us. Somehow, in the red zone, it just — nobody really has to say anything, too. We all kind of look at each other, and you can tell by body language that we’re going to make this stop.”

The Patriots also have excelled at creating turnovers near their own goal line. They’ve intercepted passes on three plays that began inside their own 20 — including Duron Harmon’s game-sealing pick in Pittsburgh — and another that started at the 23. An additional three red-zone trips by opponents resulted in lost fumbles, most notably the controversial one Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins coughed up near the pylon in Week 6.

“Defensively, it’s all about not giving up touchdowns,” said safety Devin McCourty, who went on to praise the work Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores does as the team’s red-zone coordinator. “It’s about trying to keep them off the board. We’ve seen in games where we haven’t played the way we want to play throughout the game, but if we were able to play well in the red area, we kept giving ourselves a chance to win the game.”