FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots defense certainly seems to be operating on all cylinders.
There’s a lot to like about New England’s defense, which did not allow a touchdown in a 30-14 win over the New York Jets, all over the field.
Jamie Collins continues to be a standout in his return to Foxboro, while Stephon Gilmore has separated himself as one of the best corners in the league. But Devin McCourty also has had a number of shining moments. Sunday, he picked off his third pass of the season.
While the wounded duck from Luke Falk may prove to be one of the easier interceptions of the season, it brings the safety’s streak to three games with an interception.
“I’ll take it. Just trying to be in the right place,” McCourty said after the game. “I think we do a lot of talking, especially in the back end, about where we want to be in certain situations, the formations. So it’s a big trust thing. I’m trying to be where the corners expect me to be at all times, and it just happened to work out that the ball’s found me for three games in a row. So we’ve just got to continue to let the ball find somebody on defense, and if we continue to do that we’ll have a good defense.”
McCourty also has racked up four pass deflections to go with six tackles. So, is this the best form we’ve seen the 32-year-old in? Well, his twin brother Jason says he’s doing “OK.”
“He played pretty good his rookie year. He’s doing OK right now,” Jason McCourty said of his brother with a smile. “He’s catching the ones they throw him. But overall, I think he’s doing a really good job of leading us out there on defense. … That’s a play we expect him to make. We expect him to be in the right position. We expect him to put other guys in the right position. We expect him to go out there and make game-winning plays as he’s done throughout his entire career here.
“For me personally, it’s awesome to be up close and be able to celebrate with him after he makes those plays, talk to him when we get on the sideline and going through plays. … That’s been the fun part.”
The Patriots defense has not allowed a touchdown in each of its first three games, and if McCourty and the rest of the second holds form, it’s going to be a long season for opposing offensive coordinators.
