New England Patriots: 5 observations on week 10 win over Broncos

The New England Patriots dealt the Denver Broncos their 5th straight loss last night, defeating them by a score of 41-16.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Don’t you worry, we’ll unpack it, but for now it’s time to give thanks. Sure, Thanksgiving is a week and a half away, but sometimes it’s nice to express your appreciation for the important things in your life. I’m thankful for the New England Patriots.

Every week (except last week) the Patriots give me something to look forward to and root for. I’m sure you’re the same way. They don’t cause us agony, they don’t involve themselves in other parts of our lives. What they do is simple: they play football, and they play it well.

This week was no different.

When the Denver Broncos appear on the schedule, Pats nation becomes a little apprehensive. Maybe it’s their talented defense headed by prolific pass rusher Von Miller. Maybe it’s the two postseason losses they’ve handed the New England Patriots since 2014. Maybe it’s a frightening memory of Peyton Manning’s forehead. You know, Peyton Manning? The guy who used to play football and now makes pizza with Papa John? Yeah, him.

Coming off of a bye, the Patriots were doubly prepared for the Broncos in week 10. They manhandled their “punishing” defense to the tune of 398 yards of total offense and 41 points. Two weeks removed from Halloween, the Broncos forgot how to be scary.

So thank you, Patriots, for exploiting the Broncos defense (even though they were already exploited last weekend). Thank you for bringing together an entire region of sports fans. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your dynasty.

Now, let’s get to some specifics about the game. Welcome back to my weekly post-game column, where I give five observations about this week’s contest. It could be about a single play, a bad call, something funny I saw, or just about anything else. Whatever I considered notable enough to write about, you’ll hear about it. In the words of the GOAT Tom Brady himself, let’s go.

Law and Order: STU

In the National Football League, opposing teams are considered especially heinous. In New England, the dedicated players and coaches who take down these vicious felons are members of an elite squad known as the Special Teams Unit. These are their stories. Dun dun.

You name it, the special teams got it done. It got going early on in the first quarter after the Patriots offense went 3 and out on their first drive of the game.

On 4th down, Patriots punter Ryan Allen launched a ball into orbit with his leg. His left leg, might I add. Old Belichick trick. When it came down, it was muffed and swiftly recovered by Patriots TE Jacob Hollister. That put the Patriots in great field position, and they capitalized. 7-0.

Next thing you know, the Broncos are driving. One thing lead to another, yada yada yada, and the Broncos kicked a field goal.

On the following kickoff, resident freak athlete Dion Lewis took the ball 103 yards to the house. The blocking on the play was fantastic and allowed Lewis to use his game breaking speed to take it the distance. His route to paydirt was like Rickon Stark’s route to Jon Snow to start the Battle of the Bastards: virtually straight. Once he made it past the kicker, it was game over. 14-3.

The third notable special teams play the Patriots made was by none other than utility player Rex Burkhead. On a punt attempt by the Broncos, Burkhead blocked the punt, giving the Patriots great field position yet again.

Special teams might go under-appreciated, but not last night. The Patriots STU stole the show.

As good as the Patriots special teams were, the Broncos special teams were that bad. They made blunder after blunder. Starting with the muffed punt, they continued to give up big plays to the Patriots. The worst mistake, however, was getting called for 12 men on the field on a Patriots 4th down. It let the Patriots off the hook and gave them a first down.

If the special teams can play like this weekly, the New England Patriots will be in very good shape.

Oh, and one final thing. Did anyone see Dion Lewis receive the kickoff, stand in the end zone for two seconds, flip the ball to the ref, immediately realize he didn’t take a knee, snatch the ball out of the ref’s hands, and kneel for a touchback? Dion Lewis flipped the ball to the ref thinking he had a touchback, but forgot the most important part #NEvsDEN pic.twitter.com/hl9aOXeA9G

That was incredible.

Indestructible offensive line

There’s a reason Tom Brady was able to pick apart the Broncos defense last night. TB12 is the GOAT, but he can’t freeze time. Actually, maybe he can, I wouldn’t put it past him. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t age…

Anyway, the reason Brady was able to find the holes in a dangerous defense was because he had time to let plays develop. The pocket held firm last night, and the offense was rewarded as a result.

As previously mentioned, the Broncos pass rush is feared across the league. They may be on a losing streak, but make no mistake about it. The Broncos can put pressure on quarterbacks. Leading the charge is Von Miller, who was kept quiet last night.

The man behind the Miller, and I’m not talking about your dad cracking a cold one, was LaAdrian Waddle. Waddle played extremely well, keeping Miller and company in check all night. Miller finished the game with just one single tackle and only hit the QB once.

So hats off to you, Mr. Waddle. And a tip of the hat to the rest of the offensive line, who protected Tom Terrific all night.

The lone Broncos sack of the night came on a blitz which James White failed to pick up. White was juked and allowed Justin Simmons to blow by him and take Brady down. So, while the stats may suggest that the offensive line gave up a sack, I wouldn’t credit it to them. They were nearly perfect last night.

It’s not up to me, but if Tom Brady doesn’t take the entire O-line out to a nice dinner tomorrow night, I’ll be shocked.

Life comes at you fast

Imagine waking up in the morning. You’re slightly hungover from last night, but you’re looking forward to what Sunday has to offer. You have tickets to the big game with sideline passes! On top of that, the reigning Super Bowl champions are the opposing team, and the Broncos have had their number in recent history.

You bundle up in your blue jacket, and you head to the stadium. Your view is amazing. You can’t believe how big the players are. They look big on TV, but wow, it’s totally different in person. They’re so fast and the game is intense. You pull out your phone and go to send your wife a text about how awesome it is. She’s the one who got you the tickets, after all.

You’re halfway through typing your message, and BAM. A flying object hits you square in the face. You can hear a combination of gasps and laughs. It was the ball that hit you. You’ll be on ESPN in the morning. You pick your phone up off the ground and finish up that text to your wife. What a night.

What you didn’t realize is that you’re now concussed and your text to your wife was complete gibberish. She thought you were belligerently drunk, which, admittedly, you were. It looks like you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight. Life comes at you fast.

Injuries are a part of football. It’s unfortunate but true. No one in the vicinity is safe out there. That includes players, coaches, anyone on the sidelines, and even officials. Referee Jeff Rice learned that lesson the hard way tonight, as a Patriots player was thrown into his legs.

Rice’s legs slid out from under his body, sending his head right into the turf. Ouch. He had to be carted off. I guess that’s just the nature of the beast.

Who would have thought that the biggest casualties of the night were going to be to non-players? Oh well, it gave me a laugh and I hope it gave you one too.

Thank you, Butler

Fitting that Malcolm Butler’s last name means “the chief manservant”, because Emmanuel Sanders bossed him around all night.

Sanders is really fast. He’s a tough receiver to cover. But Malcolm Butler is a top tier NFL CB. He shouldn’t have been getting burned like the left side of Harvey Dent’s face.

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Sanders finished the night with 6 receptions for 137 yards. When he was open, he was OPEN. We’re talking driving through the Midwest open. Open field all around him. After shaking Butler, Sanders always found room to run, averaging 22.8 yards per reception.

Malcolm Butler was playing cornerback like Alan (Ryan Gosling) in Remember the Titans. Getting beat like he stole something. He’s gotta play more like Petey Jones.

I’m not saying he’s lost his touch, but he certainly had a bad game. From the Bronco’s first drive until their last, Sanders was the guy. In a Peyton Manning-led offense, I’ll shake it off and tip my cap. However, when Brock Osweiler is delivering the football? There’s no excuse there. Osweiler couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean, so that fact that he connected with Sanders for so many yards just shows how poor Butler’s coverage was last night.

Shake it off, Malcolm. It happens to everyone. I’m sure Bill’s ripping into you right now or Matt Patricia is telling you what you did wrong. That’s what makes the Patriots so good; it won’t happen again.

I pity whoever gets matched up against Butler next weekend. He’ll lock him down.

Tight Ends not named Gronkowski

Who knew we had capable receiving tight ends not named Rob Gronkowski? I sure didn’t. What a wonderful sight it was to see Martellus Bennett and Dwayne Allen catching some passes this week.

We all know what Martellus Bennett can do. On the field, he’s a supplement to Gronk and can block very well. Off the field, he’s an A+ personality who just likes to have fun. A fan favorite.

Today, Marty had three receptions for 38 yards. His longest gain was 27 yards, which came on a quick pass in the face of a strong pass rush. Tom Brady recognized blitz and dumped the ball over the line to Bennett, who took it for a long gain.

Related Story: Time for Dwayne Allen to do his job

It was only his first game back with the Patriots, but Martellus Bennett is clearly trusted by Tom Brady and will act as a safety valve in certain situations. Welcome back, Marty.

Speaking of firsts, how about Dwayne Allen losing his offensive virginity! Last night Dwayne Allen recorded his first reception in a New England Patriots uniform. And what a reception it was, going for 11 yards and a touchdown.

I’d be lying if I told you that Dwayne Allen was Tom Brady’s newest weapon. I like you guys too much to tell you a lie that ridiculous. Dwayne Allen is almost an afterthought as a receiver. But he’s not useless on offense. He delivered some key blocks last night, most notably clearing a path for Rex Burkhead to convert on a 4th down rush.

Dwayne Allen might not make highlight reel plays, and he’ll rarely catch passes. But he has a job to do and he does it. He’s not here by mistake because Bill Belichick doesn’t make mistakes. Besides, doesn’t his lack of receptions make it more fun for us when he does catch a pass?

If you’ve seen Gronk’s SI Body Issue, you’ll know that he doesn’t need any supplements. Au naturale, baby. But having a supporting cast is always nice. I like our TE corps.

Moving forward

Next Sunday, the Patriots travel to Mexico City to take on the Oakland Raiders. After the Patriots won the Super Bowl last year, I thought Roger Goodell would send the Patriots to London and Mexico City in back to back weeks. Luckily, I was wrong.

The Patriots will look to extend their win streak to 6 games against a middle of the road Raiders team. The Patriots had a bunch of notable players inactive today due to injury, so hopefully they’ll be deeper next weekend.

I don’t expect the Raiders to give the Patriots any difficulty, though the secondary may find themselves in some trouble with Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree if they decide to regress. I would bet against that.

Next: New England Patriots: Top 5 quarterbacks of all-time

So there we have it. The New England Patriots are hitting their stride at the right time. It’s no wonder they call it mid-season form. Thank you for reading my observations from this week. Stay tuned after next week’s game for five more observations. Go Pats.