Bill Belichick Pinpoints Origin Of Christian Barmore’s Breakout Patriots Season

Chad Ryland and Bailey Zappe were the immediate heroes for the Patriots on Christmas Eve, but Christian Barmore made himself known to a national audience.

The third-year defensive tackle had a solid rookie season, but the New England 2021 second-round pick was hindered by injuries last season. He had a fine start to the season, but his name came up in trade rumors and was a possible candidate to be dealt before the trade deadline.

However, October began a breakout campaign for the Alabama product, and Barmore was pivotal in holding off the Denver Broncos' offense Sunday night. Barmore had three sacks, four quarterback hits, two tackles for a loss and one forced fumble. Russell Wilson rarely was comfortable in the pocket, and Barmore played a key part in continuing New England's dominance on defense.

Denver came back from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Zappe led the offense to set up Ryland for redemption when he hit a game-winning 56-yard field goal. But for Barmore, his breakout season was a long time coming.

"It was by far his best offseason," Bill Belichick told reporters, per team transcript. "He's continued to train really hard which has kept him a little healthier. He's played a lot of football but he’s been able to maintain that health and conditioning (because of) that offseason training. His lower body has really helped him with both conditioning and also just his explosive power. The experience has helped him. He did a good job (Sunday). We had set up a couple of things that worked well that he was able to take advantage of. ..."

Barmore put up All-Pro numbers through 15 games. The 24-year-old leads the team in sacks (8 1/2), QB hits (15) and tackles for loss (11) this season. His name should come up for Pro Bowl consideration, and he's eligible for a contract extension this offseason.

The interior defensive lineman is making a case to be a foundational player for the Patriots if the roster gets a complete overhaul next season.