Allowing 17 points in a NFL game usually means a defense did a good job, but for the Patriots in Week 1 against the Dolphins it didn’t tell the whole story.
While it only allowed the 17 points, less than 200 yards passing and only 74 yards rushing, facing a mediocre Miami offense it needed to do more. A performance like that would be great with Tom Brady at quarterback, but not with a rookie in Mac Jones.
That unit is the one that needs to be making plays to change the game.
While it did force a turnover, it didn’t come until late in the fourth quarter. The unit also finished with only two sacks. Sure, that’s not bad, but facing a new Miami offensive line and having a front-seven that has the potential to be dominant, that isn’t good enough.
Finally, good defenses get timely stops. That did not happen Sunday.
Miami marched down the field on its opening drive, going 80 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown to go up 7-0. Then coming out of the locker room in the second half, it went 75 yards in nine plays for another easy touchdown. And lastly, following Damien Harris’ fumble with 3:31 left, the Patriots defense had Miami in a first-and-14 at the 5-yard line with 3:24 left and all three timeouts. Facing a young quarterback like Tua Tagovailoa, the Patriots defense is good enough to get the ball back. But instead it allowed a 13-yard crosser to DeVante Parker, a first-down run, then 11 more yards on three running plays for another first down that sealed the game.
"When it mattered, we needed to step up more in the run,” defensive tackle Lawrence Guy said Monday on Gresh & Keefe.
Moving forward, the Patriots defense needs to be better than it was.
Safety Adrian Phillips said Wednesday the game was a wake-up call. "It's time to get after it,” he added.
The unit doesn’t need to be the 2000 Ravens or the 1986 Bears, but it needs to be more of a difference-maker than it was Sunday. That was a performance very complimentary for a solid offense and a veteran quarterback, not one with an average offense and a rookie quarterback.
This is the perfect bounce-back game for the unit facing the Jets in Week 2 with a rookie quarterback in Zach Wilson and and offensive line that lost star tackle Mekhi Becton for at least 4-6 weeks. The front-seven should be able to pressure Wilson and pick up a few sacks as well as force bad throws that lead to an interception or two.
While it was just one game and a small sample size, for the 2021 Patriots to have success the defense needs to be better than it was.