New England Patriots: Kyle Van Noy is wreaking havoc on NFL offenses

New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy is back in stride, and he is wreaking havoc on NFL offenses with each passing game.

Van Noy is a personal favorite in this space. Van Noy made his return to New England after the Miami Dolphins foolishly cut ties with him after just one season.

He had six sacks with the Dolphins last season. The 3-7 Dolphins’ top sack man to date is Emmanuel Ogbah with five. They could use Van Noy this season with that record. He didn’t seemingly leave on the best of terms either.

In fairness, the Patriots themselves were equally foolish the offseason before when they let him leave in the first place.

In any event, Van Noy is proving the Dolphins, who have taken a major step backward this season, wrong as he is emerging as a possible Pro-Bowler with his recent play.

New England Patriots Kyle Van Noy has been scorching the NFL lately

In the last three games, Van Noy has been an absolute offense-wrecker with his big-play ability. Let’s take a look.

First, against Carolina in Week 9, the versatile Van Noy had two batted-down passes. Then against the Cleveland Browns in Week 10, he had a batted down pass and a forced fumble. Then came his best effort to date.

To date are the operative words since Van Noy is getting better each week. In Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons, Van Noy was a one-man wrecking crew. OK, he had lots of help, but get this line.

Van Noy crushed Atlanta with eight tackles, two sacks, and an interception for a touchdown, aka a pick-six, to put an exclamation point on a totally dominant defensive effort by the Patriots.

That’s what’s called a statement game, not only for the team but for Van Noy as well. The statement was clear and emphatic. Van Noy is healthy, and he’s back and better than ever.

And there’s no doubt about it. His big games are becoming as commonplace now as Mac Jones’ 70 or 80 percent completion rate games.

After experiencing a throat injury, which wouldn’t be fun for ordinary people, let alone an NFL player, Van Noy has emerged as a force for the emerging New England Patriots defense.

Van Noy missed the Week 2 game against the New York Jets as a result of the aforementioned injury. Fortunately, he returned the next week in the Pats loss to the New Orleans Saints. Despite his quick return, it wasn’t until the heartbreaking Week 6 overtime loss against the Dallas Cowboys that Van Noy began to break out.

He assumed his rightful role as a top playmaker among other playmakers on the New England Patriots defense. He had four tackles and a fumble recovery in that game.

Then more big plays followed. In the past five games, he has 21 tackles, three sacks, five passes defended, one forced fumble, and the aforementioned pick-six against Atlanta.

It says here that his most recent game game should definitely put Van Noy in contention for NFL Defensive Player of the Week.

It will take an even more monster game (unlikely) to best that performance. Hopefully, he’ll get that accolade. It’s well-deserved.

And he’ll also need to keep up that productive play-making because his team will need those plays against the likes of the Tennessee Titans in Week 12, and the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.

To win those massive tilts, the Patriots will need big plays from him and his defensive partners like Christian Barmore, Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty, and the interceptor, J.C. Jackson among others. Not to mention Mac Jones and company will need to step it up on offense.

Let’s hope that Kyle Van Noy, now completely recovered from his injury and reinvigorated as a Patriot, will continue his outstanding contributions to this powerful Patriots’ defense.

If he does in the ensuing weeks, expect big wins and a clear path to the AFC East title and more. And won’t it be grand to be back on top where the red, white, blue, and silver belong?