One of the biggest storylines for the Patriots defense the last several weeks has been the playing time of Chase Winovich.
For the first few weeks of the season he was one of the Patriots' best players and played at least 64 percent of the snaps the first four games. Then something changed.
Beginning against Denver, Winovich played 34, 20, and 9 percent of the snaps before finally seeing the field more Monday night against the Jets when he played 74 percent of the snaps.
“It felt great being back out there with the boys," Winovich said via video conference afterwards. "It was really hard being away the last couple of games, just watching the team from the sideline, really.”
The second-year player has 21 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the year to go along with six quarterback hits.
“I can’t really speak much about the game plan, but it was just part of the game plan," he said of his increased playing time. "I guess you giveth and you taketh. I knew I had to be better on some of my fundamentals, assignments and basic football things. It was a great opportunity for me to go out there and display some of that. I am just happy we got the team win and I could contribute in a positive way.”
With the win, the Patriots are now 3-5 on the year and will take on the Ravens Sunday night.
