Defense doesn’t miss practice
FOXBORO » They were talking about practice, man.
For most of the week, all the Patriots could do was reference practicing. To avoid a full COVID-19 breakout, they chose to meet virtually, follow a staggered workout schedule and completed most of their preparation for the Broncos away from the field. In fact, they held just one practice, last Thursday.
Yet when kickoff rolled around Sunday, no one would have known. Because despite going two weeks barely seeing a field, their defense played like it had been practicing all along.
The Pats kept the Broncos out of the end zone and limited them to fewer than 300 total yards in Sunday’s 18-12 loss. Quarterback Drew Lock completed fewer than half his passes, unable to crack one of the league’s stingiest red-zone defenses. The Patriots’ performance with their backs to the goal line allowed them to survive their offense completely self-destructing through three quarters.
By the time Cam Newton and Co. found a rhythm, they remained in striking distance and nearly closed the gap thanks to two ensuing interceptions.
“That’s what we expect every week: to come out and keep fighting,” Pats cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. ‘It’s not going to be perfect, but we know we’re going to make plays, we’re going to keep fighting and we’re going to go try to get the ball back to our offense to make plays.”
Jonathan Jones grabbed the second pick, a marvelous, overthe-shoulder catch he made on a deep Lock pass down the middle. Earlier, Lock targeted Jones on three of his first four long balls,
all of which fell incomplete. While he connected often enough to sustain certain drives, it was no accident the Broncos offense — which had kicked field goals to end every drive through the third quarter — suddenly collapsed when its fate was put on his shoulders.
Lock versus the Pats’ secondary was a mismatch all day.
“Obviously Jones has made a lot of big plays around this organization in general, but today he definitely played some great football,” said Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. “Obviously, we all have a lot to improve on as a defense, but Jones in particular played some great ball today. We all just have to get back to it.”
Denver’s rushing success could largely be explained by a decimated Pats defensive line. Projected starting nose tackle Beau Allen remains on injured reserve, where he’s joined by rookie linebacker Josh Uche. Allen’s replacement, Byron Cowart, was out after testing positive for COVID-19 days ago. Defensive tackle Adam Butler entered kickoff with a shoulder injury and left with a bad elbow that sidelined him for a series.
Like many Patriots, Bentley refused to admit the injuries or lack of practices were significant factors in their play. Of all people, perhaps he would know best.
Bentley finished with a gamehigh 12 tackles and a half-sack, a sharp improvement from his play in recent weeks.
“There are no excuses. I am not an excuse guy, so it is what it is,” he said. “We all knew going into this game today that there would be some adversity, and we plan to take it on and continue to take it on to the best of our ability.”
DMac: Need sense of urgency
The Patriots kicked off the 2020 season excited about entering a new era.
At this rate, it will be a new era for all the wrong reasons.
After their loss to the Broncos, the Pats have a losing record in midOctober for the first time since 2002. That year, the team finished 9-7 and out of the postseason, one of three times the Patriots have failed to make the playoffs under Bill Belichick. While there are hardly
anymore parallels to draw between the two seasons thus far, players weren’t treating the new state of their team as much less than an emergency.
“We have a losing record right now. We have to find ways to win games. So sense of urgency, it definitely has to be there,” said safety Devin McCourty. “It’ll be great to get back to work and prepare and try to get going and get back on the field as soon as possible. But we definitely need that sense of urgency to get better and get better right away.”
Patriots running back James White, who led the team with eight catches, agreed with McCourty’s assessment.
“I mean, the urgency’s been up and it has to keep going up. Obviously we have to find a way to get in a rhythm, offensively especially, and just get it going. We’ve got to help our defense out.”
Pats saw new blitz at end
On the Pats’ final offensive play, Denver delivered a surprise.
The Broncos sent an all-out blitz featuring pressure from safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, something head coach Vic Fangio said he’d never called before. The blitz was designed for the Patriots, Fangio said, to limit Cam Newton as a passer and a runner. On the play, Newton had sufficient time to
throw, but couldn’t connect with N’Keal Harry who faced 1-on-1 coverage on the outside.
“That’s one that I’ve been looking at. Just decided this was the time to do it,” Fangio said. “This was the week to put in… With Cam Newton, as you guys saw, I think he was their leading rusher. I don’t think many of them were called runs. Most of them were scrambles. We’ve got to add guys sometimes to contain a good quarterback that’s a good runner.
“It’s just where we’re at right now. I just thought the timing was right for it.”
Stidham promoted to No. 2
Pats quarterback Brian Hoyer was inactive for the first time this season, leaving Jarrett Stidham as the primary backup to Cam Newton.
Stidham out-played Hoyer two weeks ago in Kansas City, where Hoyer was benched after a dreadful start. While Stidham threw two interceptions against the Chiefs, one was right off the hands of Julian Edelman, and the other was thrown deep while trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter. Over the summer, Stidham looked to be on track to earning the No. 2 quarterback job before he was derailed by a hip injury.
Now that he’s recovered, the job could be his for good.