New England Patriots: 5 observations from win over Dolphins
By Ben Porter
Welcome Back, Defense
There’s still about a month until Christmas, but that didn’t stop the Patriots from taking after Santa and utilizing the sack. Get it? Santa’s gift sack, the Patriots sacked Matt Moore a bunch? No? Maybe? Good talk.
Since I butchered that joke, I’ll get right back to the analysis.
The Patriots defense has finally come to play. Consistently, I might add. This week, the Patriots front 7 stole the show. They recorded 7 sacks on the night and 10 tackles for loss.
The Dolphins only rushed for 67 yards all day. The defensive line was airtight, and it showed throughout the game.
They can’t take all the credit, however, because the secondary played well too.
Stephon Gilmore continues to improve and the coverage has been solid. This is a completely different secondary than in the first half of the season.
Stephon Gilmore has played the best game of his season in four consecutive games.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 27, 2017
Before the season began, I made 5 bold predictions about the upcoming season. One of the predictions was that the defense would be superior to the offense in terms of rankings by season’s end.
We’re not there yet, but if we keep improving we’ll be on our way. The defense keeps getting better and better, while the offense has stayed as steady as the Waco Kid’s shooting hand in Blazing Saddles. Just kidding. It’s been as steady as his off hand. Steady as a rock.