Defense fails first true test
Seahawks found ways to amass points
FOXBORO — The Patriots defense hasn’t exactly given anyone reason to believe it can make the big stops when the calendar turns to January and the postseason begins.
And that was before Bill Belichick traded away linebacker Jamie Collins, one of the team’s best defensive playmakers. Last night’s showing against the Seattle Seahawks merely provided more questions and concerns about the unit, which was playing its first game without Collins, traded to the Cleveland Browns 14 days ago.
Maybe this defense can hold up against the many tomato cans of the league. Against a good team such as the Seahawks, not so much, as Russell Wilson (25-of-37, 348 yards, 3 touchdowns) picked apart the Patriots defense during last night’s 3124 Seattle win.
As it was, the Seahawks had been struggling to find consistency on offense. They had no running game to speak of — 30th in the league entering the contest — and yet, they found plenty of room against the Collins-less Pats.
C.J. Prosise killed them. The rookie back ran for 66 yards, but also had seven catches for 87 yards. Prosise was not a regular prior to this breakout performance, coming in with just nine carries for 30 yards. But he’s still someone Collins might have covered.
Rookie Elandon Roberts essentially saw most of the time at linebacker in Collins spot, playing most of the snaps, but the problems with the defense extend far beyond Collins’ former position.
While the Pats did sack Wilson three times, they weren’t able to generate enough pressure on the Seahawks quarterback, who weaved in and out of trouble masterfully and floated passes into the awaiting arms of his receivers, who generally were open whether the Pats were in a zone or man-to-man coverage.
Coach Bill Belichick’s defense didn’t force any turnovers, continuing to disappoint in that area.
“We have to do more to help the offense,” said safety Devin McCourty. “They’re moving the ball, they’re putting points on the board, we just gotta hold up a couple times, play better in the red area. A couple stops would have helped us.”
The Seahawks put points on the board on seven of their nine drives, scoring a final touchdown with 4:24 to play as Wilson hit Doug Baldwin on a 15-yard pass. They were 3-of-7 in the red zone, settling mostly for field goals, but were 6-for-12 on third-down conversions.
So the Pats bent and broke against a team with a mobile quarterback who knew just where to attack them.
“You’ve got to give credit to them, they had a good game plan coming in on how to attack us,” said linebacker Rob Ninkovich. “They did a great job preparing for us on a short week. I think we have to take this one on the chin and accept they’re the better team today. It came down to one play in the end there, but there’s a sequence of plays you have to play better, and we’ll watch the tape and see where we need to improve.”
The Pats allow teams to move the ball, but stiffen in the red zone or force turnovers. That’s allowed them to keep one of the NFL’s better points-per-game averages.
The 31-spot by the Seahawks, however, won’t help that average. It just signals problems down the road.
“It was a tough game. We played a good team. We left some plays out there, no doubt,” said defensive end Trey Flowers, one of the bright spots with a pair of sacks. “Obviously, they have a lot of weapons. They’re a great team. We have to be able to defend everything. We just have to keep moving forward.”
Except, the same issues keep turning up. No pressure, no turnovers and now, more breaking than bending when pressed by a good team. On the winning touchdown, the Pats rushed three and dropped eight into coverage. Somehow, Doug Baldwin broke free in the end zone on a third-and-3 from the 15.
“We have to do better. We can’t give up those touchdowns in the red zone,” said Ninkovich.
With the 49ers next week followed by the Jets, the challenges won’t be as great. The Pats probably will survive and be fine. But this was one litmus test the defense didn’t pass.