Defense doesn’t miss practice

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.