The Patriots' defense put together a tremendous effort in New England's 10-7 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Unfortunately for New England, the offense couldn't get anything going ... again.
The Patriots' defense held the Giants to 58 yards rushing and sacked quarterback Tommy DeVito six times for a loss of 29 total yards. Even doing their jobs defensively, they want to help the offense as well by putting points on the board.
"As a defender, we look at the defensive side and we realize what we can do to win and we have to continue to take the ball away and score on defense," defensive end Deatrich Wise, Jr. said, per the team. "That's what we think about on defense. We got to get more takeaways, get more turnovers and start scoring on defense too."
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In Germany, the Patriots defense held the Indianapolis Colts to 10 points, but again the offense couldn't find a rhythm and managed a measly six points on 37 and 24-yard field goals.
"We gave up 10 points and lost the game two weeks in a row," Patriots safety Adrian Phillips said, per Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan. "So now, we've gotta give up zero; whatever we can (do) to get our offense the ball back and get a chance to win. If 10 ain't enough, then we gotta bat 1.000, and give up zero."
The defensive leaders are being vocal regarding their role in the Patriots' failures this season and when pressed as to whether or not they feel it's their job to score, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley echoed the defense needed to help pick up the offense.
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"At the end of the day, we're trying to do anything to win so if that means us getting a turnover and scoring with it at the end of the day we're just trying to get points on the board," Bentley said, per the team. "That's definitely our main priority. ... When we go into games, we look to force turnovers and if we score off it, that's just icing on the cake."
The defense has progressed along with the season, but Wise still sees areas of improvement.
"I only speak for the defense," Wise said. "There's a lot of things we have improved on. We did a lot of great things today. Stopping Saquon, stopping the run, (allowing) just 10 points after they scored a lot of points against Washington. I think, as a defense, we're improving."
The defense will look to help the Patriots snap their four-game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Charges at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 3.
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Featured image via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images