FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty perfectly summed up how opposing offenses must feel when preparing to go up against teammate Matthew Judon.
“When the opponent sees that tape, they are thinking about him and his plays before they close their eyes at night,” McCourty said after the Patriots’ 26-3 Week 9 victory against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.
Following a dominant performance in which Judon finished with three of New England’s nine sacks and constantly put pressure on second-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger, the Colts probably won’t sleep well after the game either. Indianapolis players will be left reflecting on the eye-popping outing that now makes Judon a true contender for Defensive Player of the Year, especially considering he’s on pace to make franchise (and perhaps even league) history.
“He wrecked the game,” Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who made his return to Gillette Stadium, said of Judon in the Indianapolis locker room. “He’s tough to block. He’s having a great year. Not surprised, you know, he’s a great player.”
Colts All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner added: “Matt’s a hell of a player. He’s a game-changer — that’s why they brought him here. And he’s been having great success since the day he got here. So as a defensive player, we came into the league together and just watching him thrive, I mean, I’m happy for him.”
Colts star offensive guard Quenton Nelson explained how he didn’t have to go up against the New England edge rusher himself, but confirmed how opposing offenses must have the three-time Pro Bowler highlighted in the preparation packets. Nelson wasn’t happy with how the offensive line took another step backward, especially given the Colts have had one of the best protection units in recent years.
Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich was complimentary about the position the Patriots put Judon in. There were one or two specific examples when defensive tackle Lawrence Guy and Judon were able to stunt off one another, which ultimately resulted in a Judon sack.
“He’s a really good player,” Reich said. “We had a lot of focus on him. We were trying to put the back to his side but they were running games with him. They beat us on some games, they executed some games pretty well that we didn’t execute on. He’s a great player. Obviously, he leads the NFL in sacks. We knew that coming in. We had to try to get him a lot of attention coming in, chip him and slide to him when we could. But, obviously, we didn’t do a good enough job.”
Judon now leads the league with 11 1/2 sacks through nine games. Sunday’s contest marked the third game this season Judon recorded multiple. He has at least one sack in seven of nine games on the campaign. Perhaps best depicting his Week 9 performance, Judon went from 30-to-1 to win Defensive Player of the Year on DraftKings Sportsbook entering Sunday to 12-to-1 on Monday morning.
Judon and the Patriots will get some time to rest up with a Week 10 bye. The Colts, meanwhile, have all but punted on the season, reportedly firing Reich on Monday.
