FOXBORO, Mass. -- Most defensive players would be thrilled to score one touchdown in an entire season. Kyle Dugger? He's now scored two and had a hand in another in the last month alone.
The New England Patriots' superb third-year safety delivered the most important play in Sunday's 23-21 win over the Miami Dolphins, intercepting a third-quarter pass from Teddy Bridgewater and returning it 39 yards for a touchdown.
Two weeks earlier, Dugger undercut a Derek Carr throw for a pick-six against the Las Vegas Raiders. The week before that, he forced an Arizona Cardinals fumble that linebacker Raekwon McMillan returned for a touchdown.
Dugger also had a scoop-and-score during New England's Week 5 win over the Detroit Lions. His three defensive touchdowns this season are the most by a Patriots defender since 1970.
"You don't get a lot of Kyle Duggers in your locker room," cornerback Jonathan Jones said after Sunday's win. "He's a special guy."
Boasting a rare blend of size, athleticism, versatility and physicality, Dugger has shown enthralling potential ever since the Patriots selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. But his play over the last month has turned him into a full-blown superstar in the eyes of his Patriots teammates.
Here's a selection of quotes about Dugger after New England's win over Miami:
Cornerback Myles Bryant: "I don't know about you guys, but that's my favorite player."
Cornerback Jonathan Jones: "He's a dog. He's somebody that you've got to deal with. ... You can put him anywhere on the field. He can run guys over. He can run with guys. He's just a matchup problem. ... He always makes plays. Whether it's big tackles, interceptions -- he's going to be around the ball. He's a ballplayer. ... He's a specimen. For his size, speed, hands -- he's an elite athlete."
Safety Devin McCourty: "Any time a guy like Dug, one of our best players overall on the team, gets the ball in his hands -- third touchdown of the year. We needed him today. Stepped up big. I would say over the latter part of the season he's played great football. Really proud just to be able to be in there with him. His production and studying, his process throughout the season, it's no wonder it's paying off. The guy has been tremendous."
Safety Adrian Phillips: "I mean, he's a beast. He was finding his way in the end zone in college, too, but he's starting to do it in the league now. We knew he had it. We always mess with him in practice that he always has one of the best hands on the team, and just his athletic ability to be able to go out there and do crazy stuff. But when you see it out there in the game, it's different. To do it in practice is one thing. Doing it in a game is another, and he's showing that he has the big-play ability that we all knew he had."
Outside linebacker Matthew Judon: "I think you're going to have to write Kyle a blank check, that's how good he is right there. Just for him to get that interception and then turn it into offense, that's a one-man band. It just seemed like every week we come up with one. We've got to keep doing it, keep focused on it. That's the goal. For Kyle to do that, it was a really unbelievable play."
That "blank check" comment from Judon foreshadowed the hefty pay raise Dugger should receive when his rookie contract expires after next season. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Patriots make attempts to lock him up long-term before then, preventing one of their premier defenders from testing free agency in 2024.
In the meantime, Dugger will continue to play a key role in a Patriots defense that's been one of the NFL's best and most opportunistic this season. New England has scored a franchise-record seven defensive touchdowns and on Sunday became the first NFL team since the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score one in four consecutive games.
The win over Miami allowed the Patriots to stave off playoff elimination. They can clinch a wild-card spot with a win next weekend in Buffalo.
