BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — It’s pretty clear the Patriots defense was a completely different unit following Week 4.
So, what changed?
“Better playing, better coaching, better execution,” Bill Belichick said Monday on Dale & Holley with Keefe.
According to the players, there was much more to it.
Many pointed to the Week 5 game in Tampa Bay as being a turning point in the season. It came following a tough 33-30 loss at home to the Panthers to fall to 2-2 on the year and then came a short week on the road on a Thursday night.
“The turning point was when we lost to Carolina at home, kind of a slap in the face to everybody,” linebacker Marquis Flowers said. “We had a couple of player meetings, players and coaches. We basically had to look ourselves in the mirror and say we weren’t doing enough. We weren’t good enough.”
Weren’t good enough was an understatement.
“I felt like it couldn’t get now lower than we did after the Carolina game. We had to get better and that is what we did,” safety Duron Harmon said.
In Weeks 1-4 the Patriots allowed 32 points per game, which was second-to-last in the league. They also allowed an average of six plays of 20 yards or more in the first three games.
But, starting with the Buccaneers game in Week 5, a 19-14 win, it all changed — and it all changed because of the leadership shown that week by Devin McCourty and Dont’a Hightower, who was still on the field and playing.
These were the players who were most vocal, and organized these players only meetings to make sure the season did not get away from them because it certainly could have.
“I thought that High and [Devin] McCourty really gave us some great leadership defensively and our preparation and having the right attitude to go down and play in the game and what we needed to do,” Belichick said on a conference call the day after the game. “It was a short week. I thought they really stepped up from a leadership standpoint in that group and did a great job for us. It’s always good to see. I just wanted to recognize it because I think sometimes you just see it play out on the field.
“Obviously, they’re very, very important but there’s a lot of things that go into how it all comes together and I thought those two players defensively did a real good job for us this week.”
While those two did the talking behind the scenes, the rest of the defense followed through with their play on the field and without that, what McCourty and Harmon did wouldn't have mattered.
“Leaders always step up and say stuff,” Harmon said. “It wasn’t about what we said, it was about what we did. It isn’t about words, it is about actions and we put our words to action.”
Since that game the Patriots have allowed an average of 14.4 points per game, which is the best in the NFL over that span, and also have cut the plays of 20 yards or more in half. They allowed an average of 3.3 plays of 20 yards or more over the final 13 games of the regular season.
Harmon explained what changed from his perspective.
“Consistency in our play. Consistency in communication. Just consistency across the board,” he said. “We were able to be more consistent with limiting big plays, mental breakdowns. Just at the end of the day we played better football.”
Added cornerback Eric Rowe: “I just remember things started to come together. We started to gel together as a team, specifically as a defense. Communication-wise kind of knowing where guys were going to be depending on what play was called. Things started to come together slowly and then we got on a roll.”
Give the Patriots credit, as what could have been a disastrous season for the defense, turned into one of the better units in all of football thanks to the leadership of multiple players and now they have a real shot of winning Super Bowl LII.