Patriots zone-in with pressure
With Gilmore gone, defense finds new ways to dominate
Six weeks ago, when the Patriots shipped Stephon Gilmore to Carolina for a measly sixthround pick, all eyes in New England turned to the secondary.
How would they replace Gilmore? Was J.C. Jackson ready to be a No. 1 corner? What if the Pats defensive backs suffered an injury and were forced to dip into their diminished depth?
Turns out, all questions and eyes should have swung to the defensive front. Because there lies the strength of the Pats’ new, Super Bowl-caliber defense.
The Patriots’ pass rush harassed Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on 42% of his dropbacks Thursday, hurt his foot and capped his night with consecutive interceptions. In their previous three games, the Pats pressured quarterbacks on 34%, 46% and 51% of their passing attempts. Sharpening the pass rush was a plan months in the making.
Back in March, Bill Belichick cut Matt Judon the largest check for any defender in franchise history. Judon now owns 10.5 sacks, a career high through just 11 games. The Pats supplemented Judon’s addition by drafting powerful defensive tackle Christian Barmore (20 pressures this season), returning Dont’a Hightower and re-signing Kyle Van Noy (two sacks in Atlanta) among other transactions.
But like the Gilmore trade, Belichick’s ongoing pivot to more zone coverage has been a midseason adjustment.
In each of their past four games, the Pats have played zone on more than 70% of passing plays. These are not opponent-specific, game-plan choices anymore. This is a habit. Belichick has tweaked his system to fit the talents of his starting defensive backs post- Gilmore, specifically Jalen Mills and former practicesquad player turned starting nickelback Myles Bryant.
Yet even when that secondary
intercepts three passes, and Jackson and veteran safety Devin McCourty are asked to explain their pick party like they were Thursday night, both star defensive backs point to the pass rush.
‘We got a good pass rush, some guys up front who’s doing pretty good this season,” Jackson said.
Added Mccourty: “That’s been the story for us in the passing game. Interceptions have come from our pressure. … When we can play like that, it’s going to be tough to beat us.”
Here’s what else film revealed about Thursday’s shutout win:
Mac Jones
Adjusted completion percentage: 84.6
Under pressure: 2-2, 31 yards, 3 sacks, 1 scramble
Against the blitz: 6-8, 35 yards, 3 sacks, 1 scramble
Behind the line: 4-4, 30 yards 0-10 yards: 14-15, 115 yards, TD 10-19 yards: 4-5, 62 yards
20+ yards: 0-2, INT
Notes: Jones fell back to earth after his best performance of the season last week against Cleveland, but didn’t crash until the second half. Over the first two quarters, he went 14-of-15 for 136 yards and a touchdown. Jones was limited to more safe throws, primarily screens, out routes, curls and checkdowns. But on a night when the Patriots defense and special teams dominated, a game manager is all the team needed him to be.
Moving forward, Jones should expect opponents to attack his protections as Atlanta did. Dean Pees, the Falcons’ veteran defensive coordinator who knows the Patriots’ operation intimately, sacked him three times on blitzes. Jones was visibly frustrated, a nonverbal admission he had failed to recognize the incoming pressure pre-snap. Room for improvement.
Studs
LB Kyle Van Noy: Eight tackles, two sacks and a pick-six? Enough said.
LB Matt Judon: Judon worked hard for his sack, QB hit and additional pressure. He also flashed outside the traditional stat sheet, swallowing a screen pass whole and setting a hard edge for two run stuffs.
Run defense: Seven of the Falcons’ 16 hand-offs resulted in stops made at or behind the line of scrimmage. The entire Patriots front seven dominated.
S Devin Mccourty: Mccourty’s impact is usually invisible to the average fan — making pre-snap checks, disguising coverage and discouraging quarterbacks from throwing deep — but it was unmistakable Thursday. He finished with a pick and a pass breakup around three tackles.
Duds
CB Myles Bryant: Tough break for Bryant here after a shutout, but the Falcons successfully picked on him, especially in man coverage. He allowed multiple completions for first downs and four catches total.
Offensive notes
Personnel breakdown: 55% of snaps in 11 personnel, 39% in 21F personnel, 4% in 12 personnel and 2% in 22 personnel.
Personnel production: 5.9 yards/play in 11 personnel, 4.9 yards/play in 21F personnel, 9 yards/play in 12 personnel, 0 yards/play in 22 personnel. Pressure rate allowed: 13% Play-action rate: 30%
Yards per carry: 4.5
First downs: 57% run (6.75 yards per play), 43% pass (8.1 yards per play)
Third downs: 4-12
Red-zone efficiency: 1-3
Broken tackles: Damien Harris 4, Rhamondre Stevenson, Jonnu Smith
Sacks allowed: Team 2, Trent Brown
QB hits allowed: Team Hurries allowed: Shaq Mason Run stuffs allowed: Team 2
Holding penalties: David Andrews, Smith
Drops: None
The Trent Brown effect is real, and it is spectacular. According to Pro Football Focus, the Pats gained 104 of their 134 rushing yards running off the right side of their offensive line. Brown and right guard Shaq Mason form one of the best run-blocking duos in the league.
All three of the Patriots’ longest runs were ripped off the right side, traveling 21, 17 and 14 yards.
As power backs, Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson are also a rising duo. They alternated series, with Harris returning from
a one-game absence with a concussion.
The Patriots still don’t seem to trust either in pass protection, allowing them one pass-blocking snap each. Brandon Bolden took five.
The Pats have survived — and should continue to get by with this rotation — though Stevenson or Harris standing next to Jones in the shotgun has become a strong tell the offense is either running or passing from a five-man protection.
Why is that relevant? Like Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who successfully attacked the Pats’ protections for three blitz-induced sacks, the Titans and Bills are highly familiar with their offensive system and should apply pressure in obvious passing situations in three of the next four weeks.
On early downs, any opponent should expect an increased dose of fullback Jakob Johnson.
Over their five-game win streak, the Patriots have almost doubled their usage of 21 personnel at the expense of their twotight end package. Taking a season-high 41% of the offensive snaps, Johnson routinely crushed Falcons linebackers Thursday.
Despite their contrasting usage, both packages — 12 and 21 personnel — have been equally effective since Week 6, with one distinct difference: passing from twotight end sets has offered greater potential for explosive plays, while 21 personnel is much steadier on the ground.
Nelson Agholor scored his 19yard touchdown against a busted coverage that completely vacated the middle of the field. While he won’t break many — if any tackles
— in space, his combination of quickness and long speed is unique to the roster, and might nudge offensive coordinator Josh Mcdaniels to try to spring him on more plays in open space.
Mac Jones’ interception was both a poor decision throwing into traffic, and a heady play by Falcons corner A. J. Terrell, who fell off his receiver to trail Jonnu Smith up the seam.
His receiver? N’keal Harry. While Harry’s blocking has been excellent lately, Terrell’s gamble offered more evidence defenses still aren’t treating him as much of a receiving threat outside of garbage time.
Defensive notes
Personnel breakdown: 39% three-safety nickel package, 28% three-cornerback nickel, 22% dime, 11% base.
Pressure rate: 42%
Blitz rate: 14%
Blitz efficacy: 2-4, 2 INTS, 2.3 yards allowed per play
Yards per carry allowed: 2.5 Third downs: 2-11
Red-zone efficiency: 0-2
Sacks: Kyle Van Noy 2, Matt Judon, Davon Godchaux
QB hits: Christian Barmore, Ja’whaun Bentley, Deatrich Wise, Godchaux, Judon
Hurries: Dont’a Hightower, Lawrence Guy, Barmore, Bentley, Judon
Run stuffs: Team 6, Hightower
Interceptions: J.C. Jackson, Devin Mccourty, Adrian Phillips, Van Noy
Pass deflections: Kyle Dugger, Mccourty
Missed tackles: Dont’a Hightower
The Patriots know how to party in Atlanta, following their last
appearance in Mercedes-benz Stadium — the greatest defensive performance in Super Bowl history almost three years ago — with their first shutout since 2019.
The key to both games was regular penetration. The Pats posted one of their lowest blitz rates of the season knowing they could whip the Falcons up front, and they did, with five defenders registering multiple pressures.
Coming off a short week, there were no major changeups in coverage. The Pats played a lot of Cover 3 on early downs, disguised Cover 2 in passing situations and occasional man-to-man with Devin Mccourty back deep as the single-high safety.
During their snaps of man coverage, Kyle Dugger covered star rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, who finished with three catches for 29 yards.
In addition to Jalen Mills and Myles Bryant, this fundamental shift toward zone coverage has also helped linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Ja’whaun Bentley, who have become magnets to crossing routes when they drop back against play-action passes.
That ability to locate receivers after initially reacting to a run fake is critical because it usually denies a quarterback his first read, and gives the rush more time to get home.
Their work against the run, however, was even more impressive Thursday. There may not be a harder hitting pair in the league.
On the edge, Matt Judon has regularly credited his teammates and coaches for his ongoing career year. And he’s right. On third-andlong, the Pats routinely align their fronts to force opponents into blocking him 1-on-1 on the edge, and Judon’s capitalized on his matchups seemingly every game.
Credit to backup defensive tackle Carl Davis for teaming with safety Adrian Phillips to make a fourth-down stop in the third quarter. Davis bench-pressed the Falcons center Matt Hennessey straight into the backfield, and Phillips cleaned up the mess left on the left end.
Over the past three games, J.C. Jackson has allowed two catches and caught three passes. Somehow, despite tying for the conference lead in interceptions, Jackson’s recent play might be underrated.
Rookie cornerback Shaun Wade made his NFL debut on the defense’s final drive. It’s difficult to see Wade making an impact down the final stretch, with core special teamer Justin Bethel still ahead of him on the depth chart.
In the second quarter, the Pats fielded Bethel for one snap of a four-cornerback dime package they had yet to use this season. Overall, the Patriots hadn’t played with four corners since Week 5.
Statistics for passing depth, broken tackles and missed tackles courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
*11 personnel = one running back, one tight end; 12 personnel = one running back, two tight ends; 21F personnel = two backs, one tight end; 22 personnel = two backs, two tight ends.
**Nickel defense = five defensive backs; dime defense = six defensive backs; base defense = four defensive backs.