The New England Patriots defense was put in an impossible position in the Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Not only was the unit battered with injuries, but it was handcuffed to an offense that turned the ball over three times and consistently put them in bad field position.
Buy Patriots TicketsIt was in no way a great performance for the defense, but they also didn’t look nearly as bad as the 38-3 score indicates. In fact, it’s surprising the score didn’t get even worse with the offense giving up two defensive touchdowns to the Cowboys.
The defense also lost two of their best players with cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Matthew Judon both going down with injuries. They’ll have their work cut out for them when attempting to bounce back in Week 5 against the visiting New Orleans Saints.
Let’s take a look at the top-10 defensive players, per Pro Football Focus grades, in the loss to Dallas.
10
S Brenden Schooler
Grade: 60.0
9
S Kyle Dugger
Grade: 60.6
8
S Adrian Phillips
Grade: 62.8
7
DL Deatrich Wise Jr.
Grade: 71.1
6
LB Ja'Whaun Bentley
Grade: 71.6
5
DL Sam Roberts
Grade: 72.1
4
LB Matthew Judon
Grade: 73.0
3
S Jabrill Peppers
Grade: 76.6
2
CB Jalen Mills
Grade: 77.7
1
LB Jahlani Tavai
Grade: 82.6
