Pats at true braking point
Run ‘D’ must stop hot rookie Fournette
FOXBORO — Maligned earlier this season, the Patriots’ improved run defense has hit the brakes on opponents of late.
Now, that unit needs to turn in its best performance of the year against Jaguars runaway train Leonard Fournette, the fourth overall pick who carried their offense throughout his rookie season.
If the Pats can’t stymie Fournette Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, they know it’ll be a long day at Gillette Stadium.
“That’s the biggest thing,” defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois said. “Once they’ve got that run rolling, you can’t stop it. It’s coming downhill. You can see the last game they played, the run game was moving and nothing was stopping that run game. We’ve got to be those guys to be able to hold the fort in that front. If we don’t, the game can get out of hand really quick.”
The Patriots had the 20th-ranked run defense in the regular season, but the brunt of that damage occurred earlier in the year when they couldn’t set the edge. Related, the backs who packed the most punch were of the electric variety and could stress the edge of the defense. The Pats have controlled the downhill runners like Fournette.
Case in point, the five runners with the most success against the Patriots on a per game basis were LeSean McCoy (32 carries, 164 yards), Kareem Hunt (17 carries, 148 yards), Kenyan Drake (34 carries, 134 yards), Melvin Gordon (14 carries, 132 yards) and Le’Veon Bell (24 carries, 117 yards). All were fast enough to bounce it outside.
But the Patriots’ exclamation point was Saturday against Titans bruiser Derrick Henry, who had the best game of his career in the wild card round against the Chiefs (23 carries, 156 yards, one touchdown) but couldn’t find any room against the Pats, who stuffed him for 28 yards on a dozen totes.
Run defense is about pride, and the Pats have it right now.
“It’s definitely fun,” defensive tackle Malcom Brown said. “It’s definitely a pride thing, also. Every play, pass game, too, you’re competing. It’s a pride thing when you’re going against anybody.”
The Patriots have surrendered an average of 63 rushing yards over their last three games. Running backs over that stretch have 49 carries for 136 yards (2.8 yards per carry).
There are plenty of reasons for the turnaround. In the middle, Brown and Lawrence Guy have improved considerably throughout the season, and Jean Francois has added more consistency while taking over Alan Branch’s role.
And on the edge, Kyle Van Noy was at full strength last week for the first time in two months, and James Harrison has done well on run downs in two appearances. They’ve reinforced the strong play by defensive ends Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise. And, of course, Cassius Marsh was the greatest culprit on the edge, but the Patriots released him upon returning home from Mexico City.
“We continue to grind,” Guy said. “We get great looks in practice and have great competition on the field. We consistently try to improve your game as much as you can throughout the week to get better and better. You never want to have a bad week. You want to try to improve and continue to grow.
“We look at every game like we’re going to go in there and play our best, and we practice like that. This Sunday, we’re playing a real good team, so we’ll have to come in there with everything we’ve got like we do every other week.”
Fournette bowled through the Steelers to the tune of 109 yards and three touchdowns, and he had 1,040 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in the regular season. Since Week 7, the Jaguars’ success can be defined by their running game, as they’re 9-0 when they rush for at least 93 yards and are 0-3 when they don’t.
If the Patriots can smother Fournette on early downs, they’ll be in the desirable position of forcing quarterback Blake Bortles into predictable third-down passing situations while ensuring the Jaguars can’t chew up clock and play keepaway from Tom Brady.
All those strides on run defense led to this test against the Jaguars, which will be the Pats’ toughest of the season.
“It’s going to be a challenging game,” Jean Francois said. “This is the type of game that a team that loves stopping the run should enjoy. They’ve got a great offensive line. They’ve got a stable full of backs. They can do so many things. You’ve got a guy from LSU in the backfield that can tote the ball as many times as he wants.
“This week is going to be the week for us to really study, really put all of our time and energy into trying to stop that run.”