How the Patriots can stop Jackson
With the Ravens’ bye, New England has one less week to prepare for an offense that will challenge the weakest part of its elite defense. For as much as has been made of the motley crew of quarterbacks the Patriots have faced — Ryan Fitzpatrick, Luke Falk, Josh Allen, Colt McCoy and Daniel Jones, to name a few — New England’s run defense has been tested only slightly more over the season’s first two months.
Outside of the Cleveland Browns (No. 3 in Football Outsiders’ rushing efficiency) and Buffalo Bills (No. 6), the Patriots have faced some of the NFL’s worst ground games. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Washington Redskins rank among the NFL’s 11 least-efficient rushing offenses, and when the Patriots faced the New York Giants (No. 13), Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley was unavailable because of injury.
That the Browns rushed for 159 yards on just 22 carries Sunday is a sign that New England is most vulnerable up front. After not allowing any carries of 10 yards or more over the season’s first three weeks, the Patriots have given up three or more in three of their past five games. Strangely enough, New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell’s longest run of the season (19 yards) came against New England.
Maybe more than in any other game this season, the Patriots have to be solid Sunday on third down, where Jackson’s legs have moved the sticks from 8, 10 (twice), 14 and 20 yards out this season. The Ravens convert almost half of their third-down opportunities (47.3%, fifthbest in the NFL). New England stops almost 85% of them, by far the league’s top mark.
The Patriots will also enter Baltimore having faced two quarterbacks with quick feet. In limiting Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield to a combined 33-for-59 passing with one touchdown and four interceptions, New England also held them to six carries (for an otherwise impressive 44 yards) and forced 10 sacks.
It’s a defense that’s most destructive when it forces offenses into obvious passing situations. On Buffalo’s first drive, eight Patriots crowded the line of scrimmage before third-and-10, threatening an all-out blitz. When Allen took the shotgun snap, all but linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. either came with pressure or faked it, engaging a blocker before backing off. Allen was sacked almost immediately after he reached the end of his drop. (A defensive-holding penalty ultimately negated the play.)
Against Cleveland, on third-and-11 midway through the fourth quarter, the Patriots again showed heavy pressure, but only five pass rushers went after Mayfield. Two linebackers kept tabs on him, while a safety waited for a hole, then took off. Mayfield had three receivers in single coverage downfield and couldn’t connect.
The Ravens’ best hope against such an organized, well-schooled defense might be that one of New England’s greatest strengths — the reliability of its man-toman coverage, even with little safety help — can be used against it. Jackson’s three longest scrambles this season, which averaged 29 yards, came after he escaped a blitz or a spy and no secondlevel defender was around to stop him.
If the Patriots continue to call for man coverage, their linebackers and defensive backs could be turning their backs on a game-breaker.