The New England Patriots defense has been strong through the first two games of the season. They rank in the top-half of the league with six sacks so far this year. They also rank sixth overall in run defense with 156 yards given up so far through two games.
Patriots safety Devin McCourty gave some insight into the Patriots’ approach, following the team’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
New England’s defense limited Steelers running back Najee Harris to 49 yards on 15 attempts. They also were able to hold quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to 168 passing yards on 21 completions. It was a solid effort in a game that was defensive-minded all around.
New England’s defense was able to come up with several big stops in the fourth quarter, hoping to seal the victory. And they managed to do exactly that in a 17-14 win on the road.
McCourty and the team always have a focus each time they take the field. He elaborated a little bit more on the strategy, as transcribed by Keagan Stiefel of NESN.com.
“That is hard in this league, you can ask the guys on offense for us. There are going to be games that we cannot allow that, we are going to have to make plays, because you are going to play some of these offenses who can consistently drive down the field and put points on the board,” said McCourty. “That is what it is in this league. Do not give it up in one play, make a team play after play, make something happen.
“Then it is important to try to play good defense in the right area. I think we all will hate the touchdown we gave up in the red area. Sometimes they are going to make a good play; a good throw or catch but we have to make it tough. I thought we did a good job of that today throughout the game consistently.”
The Patriots did make it tough on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the majority of the game. They held Pittsburgh to six points throughout the first three quarters of the game
New England will have to have another strong defensive effort when they take on the Baltimore Ravens this coming Sunday.
A performance like the one against the Steelers is something they can build off of. However, they will be in for a much more difficult test when Lamar Jackson comes to town.
