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In a loss to the Raiders, they held young talent Ashton Jeanty to 38 yards, (he put up 75 against the Titans last Sunday and 138 – no typo – against the Bears in Week 4). Similarly, they held James Cook to 49 yards when they saw the Bills in their major Sunday Night Football upset. Alvin Kamara was almost an afterthought the following week, with just 31 rushing yards.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cmgtyvrva001p357turenm6bz@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'New England allows the third-lowest yards per carry from their opponents at an average of just 3.5. They should be able to keep things rolling, (or rather, stop them from running), against the Titans in Week 7.<br />Tennessee parted ways with Brian Callahan to start the week, and in turn, lost their offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, (Brian’s father). 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Patriots have the only NFL defense to accomplish this feat

By Meghan OttoliniOct 17, 2025

Meghan Ottolini

Meghan Ottolini co-hosts afternoon drive on WEEI with Adam Jones and Christian Arcand Monday through Friday, 2-6pm. She also writes about the…

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The Patriots defense hasn't quite rounded into form in the way they'd hoped at the start of the season – and they're the first ones to admit it.

"We still haven't played our best football, and we know it," cornerback and team captain Marcus Jones told WEEI Thursday. "We strive for it, every week. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure we cause turnovers and get the ball back to the offense."

Jones has had a wildly impactful season through six games.
He's posted a touchdown, an interception, and a sack. But the calling card of this defense may not be generating turnovers, but rather, stopping the ground game.

Patriots Media Relations shared an insightful nugget ahead of the Patriots' trip to the Titans:

"The Patriots are the only team in 2025 that has not surrendered 50 yards to a running back through the first six games. It is the first time in team history that has occurred. Last season, Baltimore did not allow a 50-yard rusher for the first seven weeks of the season."

The 2024 Ravens are nice company to be in. They finished their season with the fewest yards per carry allowed out of the entire NFL, and the fewest rush yards overall.

To quote the great Canadian Alanis Morissette, it's a little bit ironic, because the Patiots' own run game has been sludge to start the year. But the defense has been able to stifle big boss after big boss on the ground. In a loss to the Raiders, they held young talent Ashton Jeanty to 38 yards, (he put up 75 against the Titans last Sunday and 138 – no typo – against the Bears in Week 4). Similarly, they held James Cook to 49 yards when they saw the Bills in their major Sunday Night Football upset. Alvin Kamara was almost an afterthought the following week, with just 31 rushing yards.

New England allows the third-lowest yards per carry from their opponents at an average of just 3.5. They should be able to keep things rolling, (or rather, stop them from running), against the Titans in Week 7.
Tennessee parted ways with Brian Callahan to start the week, and in turn, lost their offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, (Brian's father). But even if operating under the assumption that the disorganization behind the scenes in Nashville will be a major distraction for the team, New England can't discount Tony Pollard. Pollard has three consecutive seasons of 1,000+ rushing yards.

Interim defensive playcaller Zak Kuhr said he's been impressed with how quickly the individuals on the Patriots defense have figured out the ground game, but the passing defense may need more time to gel.

"On the run, I attribute that to the players playing their asses off, swarming to the ball, and the culture [Mike Vrabel] Vrabes has set as a team. I think the pass game, sometimes as a defense, it does take a little bit more time to develop."

The Patriots rank 10^th in total yards surrendered through the air, but second in yards given up per pass attempt at an average of 8.3.

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