If the New England Patriots are going to preserve their undefeated season, it's probably not going to be because of Tom Brady. That may seem odd, considering Brady leads the league in passing yards and is currently the favorite to capture the MVP trophy. But given the rash of injuries the Patriots are dealing with on offense, Brady can no longer be counted on to win games the rest of the way. The onus now falls on the defense, which appears more than up for the task.
The Patriots’ defense could carry them to a perfect season
Though Tom Brady receives much of the attention, the Patriots have quietly built one of the best and deepest defenses in the league.
Much of the focus on the Patriots over the last several years has been on the offensive side of the ball, and rightfully so. New England has ranked in the top five in points scored in six of the last eight seasons, including three No. 1 finishes. But over that same time period, Bill Belichick has been rebuilding his defense from the ground up. The unit is filled with first- and second-round picks, and is now among the league’s elite.
When the Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years at the start of this millennium, it was largely on the backs of defensive players whom Belichick’s predecessor, Bill Parcells, had drafted and developed. But now Belichick has shaped the defense into his own image.
Six of the Patriots' last seven first-round selections have been defensive players, a list that includes Devin McCourty, Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower. Starters Jamie Collins, Patrick Chung and Logan Ryan, who are also integral pieces, were taken in the second and third rounds.
The Denver Broncos’ formidable defense has gotten the most headlines this season, but as the two teams enter their Week 12 matchup, it’s the Patriots who boast the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL. Over the last four contests, opponents have only put up an average of 14 points against New England. Even more impressively, they’ve played this well without Collins, who’s been sidelined since Week 8 with an illness.
The backbone of the Patriots’ D is a fearsome pass rush, as they’re currently second in the league in sacks. Jones and Hightower have developed into superstars, but the glue of New England’s front seven is the versatile Rob Ninkovich. In many respects, Ninkovich is the quintessential Patriot: He was a journeyman fifth-round pick before Belichick scooped him up in 2009, and since then he’s graduated from the special teams unit to become one of the defense’s stalwarts. He’s recorded eight sacks in three consecutive seasons and often drops back in pass coverage as well.
But the front seven was expected to be a strength heading into the season. The real surprise has been the pass defense, which has fared just fine despite losing all three of its starting cornerbacks from last year’s Super Bowl run.
Malcolm Butler has emerged as a legitimate No. 1 corner, which is incredible considering he was an undrafted rookie who narrowly made the roster out of training camp in 2014. It's unlikely any feat Butler accomplishes in his career will surpass his game-saving interception to close out Super Bowl XLIX, but he's played his best two games as a professional over the last two weeks.
Though Odell Beckham Jr. burned Butler for an 87-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the Patriots' 27-26 win over the Giants two weeks ago, he didn't back down. Butler blanketed Beckham for the rest of the game, holding one of the game's best wideouts to just three catches and 17 yards the rest of the way. Butler repeated that performance against Sammy Watkins Monday night, limiting him to three receptions and 36 yards.
Over the spring and summer, Belichick was castigated throughout New England for letting Darrelle Revis go. But more than halfway through the season, it appears as if he was right. Butler is replacing Revis for a fraction of the cost.
With a two-game lead over the Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals for the best record in the conference, the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC looks destined to go through Foxborough once again -- that is, if the Patriots can hold off the Broncos Sunday night. The matchup was originally billed as one last showdown between Brady and Peyton Manning, but with the depleted Patriots offense sputtering and Manning out of action, all eyes will now be on the defensive side of the ball.
The résumé of the Patriots’ defense doesn’t stack up against Denver’s, but so far their overall performance has been better. It will likely have to be Sunday night if New England is going to keep its undefeated dreams alive.
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