With two impressive offensive performances, it appears the New England Patriots are out of their early-season funk and apparently ready to stake their claim in the AFC once again.
After passing a huge test against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Five, the Patriots could have had problems with an emotionally stoked Buffalo Bills team playing their first home game under new owner Terry Pegula. Instead, the Patriots rediscovered the magic in Tom Brady’s arm as he completed 27-of-37 passes for 361 yards with four touchdowns and not a single interception.
The Pats ran away from the Bills and dominated in a 37-22 victory that has left them in first place by themselves in the AFC East with a 4-2 record.
Since the hapless Jets are coming to town this week for one of the NFL’s special Thursday night extravaganzas, the Pats will only strengthen their position and they will almost certainly take advantage of the opportunity to embarrass Rex Ryan, Geno Smith and the rest of the Jets yet again.
But smooth sailing is not what the Patriots have in front of them. What they have is yet another crisis. The Patriots lost their most important defensive player in middle linebacker Jerod Mayo and their best running back in Stevan Ridley. Both players are done for the year with knee injuries.
This changes the way Bill Belichick has to do business in a dramatic way. A couple of years ago, the Patriots were one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They could score at will thanks to Brady, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski, but they were giving up nearly as many big plays as they were making.
Belichick, who made his bones in the league as a defensive coordinator, couldn’t stand it. The Pats improved in the second half of the 2012 season, and were quite a bit better last year, but a Mayo injury (torn pectoral muscle) hurt them badly and kept them from asserting themselves in the second half of the season.
The Patriots were once again in the position of having to outscore opponents. Not only was Mayo out of the picture, but huge defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was out with a torn Achilles. By the time the Pats played the Broncos in the AFC Championship game, the defense was just a shell of what it could have been.
That has not been the case this year, as they have the fifth-ranked defense in the league and the third-best pass defense. Not only is Wilfork back in the middle, stopping the interior run and collapsing the pocket, pass rushers Rob Ninkovich (4.0 sacks) and Chandler Jones (3.5 sacks) are making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.
That’s just part of it. They have the premier cover man in the league in Darrelle Revis, who is apparently starting to get comfortable in the New England secondary. Belichick unleashed Revis against the Bengals and let him play man coverage on A.J. Green. Prior to that, Revis had been playing in the Patriots’ regular zone defense. That wasn’t good for Revis or the Pats, and Belichick gave him the freedom he needed to let the All-Pro cornerback play his game.
But it was Mayo (team-best 53 tackles, 1.0 sack, and a fumble recovery) who held the defense together. His season-ending knee injury means the Patriots are going to have to play without the man who runs their defense.
They may be able to survive without his talent, but it is his know-how that will be missed the most. Belichick admitted as much when he talked to the Patriots’ media contingent Monday.
“We’re just going to have to get contributions from other guys — some at the linebacker position and some at other positions as well,” Belichick said. “There’s no one guy who is going to, on this team, do what Jerod did. We’re lucky to have him, let alone another guy that can do all that, too. It will have to come from a combination of guys somehow.”
Jones also confirmed Mayo’s importance, calling him the “Tom Brady of the defense.”
The Patriots are going to need someone to step up and take the leadership role, and the most likely candidate is second-year weakside linebacker Jamie Collins, who is second to Mayo in tackles with 26 and also has three passes defensed, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
There’s no doubt about Collins’ physical attributes – he’s 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds and runs extremely well – and he has also been right by Mayo’s side for two years. The Pats need him to step up and take over the responsibility of becoming a leader.
The loss of Ridley presents problems on the offensive side, but they are not quite as devastating as Mayo’s loss. Ridley has rushed for 340 yards (3.6 yards per carry) and has given the New England offense a chance to take a bit of pressure off of Brady.
The next men up at the running back position are Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden. Both are decent backs, but lack the all-around ability (elusiveness combined with power) of Ridley.
However, Belichick was not completely sold on Ridley. Past fumbling problems were an issue and it would have taken several more games for Ridley to convince his coach that he had put that problem behind him.
The Patriots almost always find a way to survive, but a major test is coming. After the Jets leave town, they will face the Bears, Broncos, Colts, Lions, Packers, and Chargers in consecutive games.
This is the kind of gauntlet that will either prove their worth or ruin them.
Based on their Hall of Fame coach and quarterback’s record together, don’t bet on the latter. This appears to be a team that welcomes tests, and the Patriots have made a habit of passing them in impressive fashion.
