The New England Patriots defense absolutely dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in a 20-3 victory.
There were many bright spots, and this defense showed that they are going to be a problem for opposing teams. The defensive line wreaked havoc on Aaron Rodgers all day, and the secondary shut down the passing attack as a whole. It’s also looking like defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr is an absolute mastermind, and after only giving up 3 points, let’s dive into all the things fans should be excited for.
The Patriots' defensive line will create nightmares for opposing offenses
The Patriots defensive line was in Aaron Rodgers’ face on just about every snap.
Huge performances from Christian Barmore, Elijah Ponder, and Gabe Jacas shined the brightest. But Milton Williams’ tape shows how much of an impact he had, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Williams was clearly taking most of the attention of the offensive line, and that allowed other players to have favorable matchups. We got to see Jacas show that he is going to be a serious weapon for this defense. He plays with an incredible motor and has the size and strength to terrorize opposing offenses. This is why I was so high on him coming out of the Draft, and it looks like the Patriots have another cornerstone player.
Another surprise breakout was Elijah Ponder. He had some good moments last season, but on Sunday, he showed he can be a real contributor to this defense (three tackles and a sack).
Overall, it looks like New England is going to have a menacing defensive line. The only thing I would like to see is adding another edge rusher, potentially via trade, to get some more depth. But we will go over that another day.
The Patriots' secondary is a no fly zone
The secondary was clearly going to be a strength of this Patriots team, but watching it come to life against Pittsburgh was awesome.
Christian Gonzalez shadowed DK Metcalf all game and pretty much erased him from the game. It was obvious Metcalf had no answer for Gonzalez, and you could tell by how frustrated he was getting. I loved seeing Gonzo letting Metcalf hear it with some trash talk; it reminded me quite a bit of Stephon Gilmore back in the day when he would lock somebody up and calmly let them hear it. No big gestures or yelling, just some simple chirping face to face.
The secondary played well as a whole, which is even more impressive knowing that Carlton Davis III was injured and didn’t even suit up for the game. I look forward to seeing this secondary fully healthy, tormenting receivers for the rest of the season. And if the Patriots make a big playoff run, you can bet that Gonzo and this secondary are going to be a huge reason why.
Patriots defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr is a mastermind
Watching a Kuhr defense is like watching Picasso paint. It is truly incredible to watch how he schemes up blitzes and consistently has answers for everything the offense is attempting to do. There was one play when he schemed up a blitz, and linebacker Christian Ellis went untouched as a free rusher, which resulted in him destroying Aaron Rodgers for a sack.
Watching a perfectly executed blitz, or a stunt he puts in, is absolutely beautiful for a football psychopath like myself, and all the New England fans who are just as crazy for their football team. My prediction is that after this season, Kuhr is going to get some head coaching interviews, but until then, Patriots fans should be overjoyed to have a defensive mastermind calling their plays.
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