FOXBORO, Mass. — Three weeks ago, the New England Patriots largely neutralized Patrick Mahomes and the electric Kansas City Chiefs offense for 30 minutes, holding them to just nine first-half points.
Then, they proceeded to give up 31 after halftime, forcing Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense to stage a furious rally of their own to squeak out a 43-40 victory.
No such comeback was required Sunday night.
Facing one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, the Patriots’ defense put forth arguably its best performance of the season, holding Rodgers to a season-low 259 passing yards and the Green Bay Packers to just seven second-half points in a 31-17 victory at Gillette Stadium.
“The defense played spectacular,” Brady said after the game. “Seventeen points against that offense is great.”
After surrendering just six points in a Monday night win over the hapless Buffalo Bills, the Patriots flustered the typically unflappable Rodgers by disguising their coverages and generating pressure. The superstar QB hooked up with rookie wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (three catches, 101 yards) on a few shots down the field but otherwise was held in check, tying his season low of 6.02 yards per attempt.
“It’s not an all-out, ‘let’s do a bunch of trickery’ stuff,” said Devin McCourty, who got in Rodgers’ face on a safety blitz to force an errant throw. “It’s just ‘don’t make it easy.’ He’s too good. If he knows what you’re in on every play, you have to be perfect defensively, and that’s a big task. … I think we did a good job of just trying to mix it up and make it as difficult as possible.”
After Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling connected for 24- and 26-yard strikes on the final two plays of the third quarter, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy made the most important play of the game on the opening snap of the fourth, punching the ball out of running back Aaron Jones’ hands to force a fumble.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who spent most of his night locking down Packers No. 1 wideout Davante Adams, dove on the loose ball, giving the Patriots possession and providing an undeniable shift in momentum. The Patriots went on to score 14 unanswered points and held Green Bay to just 21 yards over their final two possessions to turn a tie game into a comfortable victory.
It was just the second time this season the Packers had failed to score a point in the fourth quarter.
“It was fun,” said defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who split a sack with Trey Flowers to force a late three-and-out. “The whole defense was clicking. We got a big turnover and we just got it going. We just had to close the pocket as much as possible, keep him throwing from the back of his toes, and get him down. We did a good job.”
The Patriots’ defense rounding into form around Halloween has become something of a yearly tradition. As the Boston Herald’s Kevin Duffy noted, New England played 20 games in November, December and January over the past two seasons and allowed 17 or fewer points 15 times.
“We’re probably tired of getting yelled at from the first eight weeks,” safety Duron Harmon said. “No, it’s cliché, but we just continue to get better. Some teams plateau and get satisfied. We’re always looking to get better. We’re looking to take another step in our game. And when you’ve got a great group of guys on defense and you continue to be hungry each and every week and not be satisfied, it’s easy to continue to get better as the weeks go on.”
