New England Patriots: 3 defensive stars from big victory over the Chargers

The New England Patriots pulled out a massive victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8, and it could end up saving their season. Their record stands at 4-4 right now, entrenching themselves in a tight wild card race that is still very much up for grabs. Had they fallen to 3-5, their path to the playoffs would have been much tougher and much more unlikely.

Now there’s legitimate hope that this team could end up playing football well into January. After dropping close contests to the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots couldn’t afford to do the same this week against the Chargers. And for the first time this season, they closed out a tight game in the fourth quarter against a superior team.

Whereas the defense let the team down in their most recent loss at the hands of the Cowboys in Week 6, they were the main reason New England was able to pull out a hard fought victory this time around. The Chargers feature one of the most dangerous offenses in the league, and the defense did a fantastic job of limiting their output for long stretches of the game.

When looking back at the game, it’s clear that the top performers for New England were all on the defensive side of the ball. The offense did their job in closing out the game with an extended drive at the end of the game, but the defense did the legwork to get them there. Let’s take a look at the three stars of the game for New England’s defensive unit, starting with a recent practice squad call up who stepped up in a big way in this one.

New England Patriots star player No. 3: Myles Bryant

There has been a lot of chatter about the Patriots potentially needing to trade for a cornerback at the trade deadline, especially after it was announced top slot corner Jonathan Jones would be forced to miss the rest of the season. The thing is, his replacement may already be on the roster in the form of practice squad call up Myles Bryant.

Bryant found himself getting the majority of the vacant slot cornerback snaps for the second week in a row, and boy did he make the most of them. The picture above pretty perfectly shows Bryant’s impact on the game. He didn’t register a ton of stats, but he was flying all over the field, and made a couple of key plays later on in the game that helped the defense get off the field.

On the Chargers opening drive of the second half, Bryant brought pressure off a slot blitz on third down that forced Herbert to get rid of the ball, and Los Angeles punted on the next play. On the next drive, Keenan Allen appeared to have caught a pass that would have given Los Angeles a first down on 3rd & 4, but Bryant came in broke it up at the last second, forcing the Chargers to settle for three instead of seven.

Bryant was a weapon all over the field, and played a big part in slowing down the dangerous Allen for most of the afternoon. While he has the makeup of a solid slot corner, his versatility allows him to play deeper off the ball in more of a safety role, or closer to the ball in more of a hybrid safety-linebacker capacity.

It was all hands on deck in New England’s secondary for this one, especially after they lost a couple of key pieces in Jones and Stephon Gilmore earlier this season. Much has been made about needing a replacement for Jones recently, but Bryant has done his best to let the coaching staff know that his replacement is already on the roster.

New England Patriots star player No. 2: Matthew Judon

It’s clear that Matthew Judon has been the Patriots most impactful free agent signing this offseason, but it’s beginning to look like he might have been one of the best free agent signings in the entire league. Judon has been an absolute force so far during his time in New England, and that didn’t change against the Chargers.

Judon finished yesterday’s game with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for a loss, and two quarterback hits. He was a thorn in Herbert’s side all day long, and consistently found his way into the backfield. On a day where it was clear that Herbert was uncomfortable with the amount of pressure he was under, Judon’s presence was all the more important.

Judon’s seemingly constant ability to get in the backfield has also helped open things up for his teammates too. Lawrence Guy, who is typically used as a run defender, was able to pick up a sack in the second quarter while lining up right alongside Judon. Christian Barmore also met Judon in the backfield for half of a sack on Herbert later on in the game. Judon’s statline has been impactful on his own, but now he’s beginning to open up things for his teammates too.

Speaking of Judon’s stats, he’s now fourth in the league for sacks (eight) and tackles for a loss (nine) on the season. The Patriots have lacked a pass rushing threat like Judon ever since Trey Flowers signed with the Detroit Lions after the 2018 season. It’s added a new layer to New England’s defense that wasn’t necessarily present the last couple of seasons.

Judon is a weekly show in his own right, making big plays pretty much everytime he sets foot on the field. He played a huge part in helping the Patriots get past the Chargers yesterday, and if they do end up making a push for a playoff spot, you can bet Judon will play a big role in getting the team there.

New England Patriots star player No. 1: Adrian Phillips

Much was made about this game being a homecoming of sorts for Hunter Henry considering he spent the first five seasons of his career with the Chargers before signing with the Pats this past offseason. Turns out the homecoming we should have been paying closer attention to was the one that Adrian Phillips took part in instead.

Phillips spent the first six seasons of his career with the Chargers before signing with New England in 2020, and he was the star of the show in his return to Los Angeles. Phillips had three tackles, two pass deflections, and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Phillips was the most impactful player on the field for either team, and without him, New England probably doesn’t win this game.

In fairness, both of Phillips’ interceptions were a bit fortuitous to say the least. The first one went right off the hands of Austin Ekeler, and Phillips was in perfect position to make a play on the deflected ball.

The second one was the result of a miscommunication between Herbert and tight end Jared Cook, which resulted in Herbert’s throw going right to Phillips instead. Even if they weren’t the flashiest plays, Phillips took advantage of Los Angeles’ mistakes and helped power New England to victory.

In the buildup to this game, I made a case for Devin McCourty being the most important piece in the Pats gameplan, but it turns out I overlooked the former Charger Phillips. McCourty also had a very solid game, and was a key piece in limiting Mike Williams to virtually no production, but Phillips made the two biggest plays of the game for New England.

Phillips’ timely interception turned a one point deficit for the Patriots into a seven point lead after the offense converted the ensuing two point conversion. The Chargers offense could have been set to drive down the field and pad their lead, but Phillips made sure that wasn’t possible. In the process, he made Los Angeles’ front office look like fools for letting him go to New England for such a cheap price. Quite a day for the veteran safety if you ask me.