FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As the players slowly filtered out of the New England Patriots locker room Sunday, defensive end Chris Long spoke of the team’s 26-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams: “For the first time all year, I feel like we really put it all together.”

Long was talking about the offense, defense and special teams. But if he had been speaking only about his defensive teammates, people would have understood.

The Patriots threw their best defensive effort of the season together on Sunday, holding the Rams to just 162 total yards, 36 rushing yards and seven first downs. Los Angeles was just 1 for 12 in third-down conversions.

Now the Patriots know they have to keep getting better.

“We’re definitely improving for sure but we’ve got a long way to go,” Long said on Wednesday. “We’ve got a really big test this week and these games only get tougher as the year goes on. We’re in December now so it’s going to be really important.”

That test comes Monday night when the Patriots – 10-2 and primed to clinch the AFC East for an NFL-record eighth consecutive year – play the surging Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Baltimore (7-5), which has the league’s top-ranked defense, has won four of its last five and sits atop the AFC North.

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New England’s defense has been much maligned this season. If the Patriots are going to have any postseason success this year – and they’re certainly one of the favorites to get to the Super Bowl – the defense is going to have to play a huge role.

The loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski for the season to a back injury hampers a potent New England offense.

His loss was most noticed last Sunday whenever the Patriots moved deep into St. Louis territory. Four times the Patriots had to settle for field goals.

If that continues, it’s going to be up to the defense to make sure those lost points don’t come back to hurt the Patriots.

And they are getting better. The Patriots have the ninth-ranked defense, but are tied with Baltimore for second-fewest points allowed (17.3).

Since losing at home to Seattle, 31-24, on Nov. 13, the Patriots defense has stepped up in critical situations. In three victories, New England has held teams to an average of just 74 rushing yards (20.3 fewer than the season average), 264.7 yards of total offense (down 72.6 yards from its season average) and 11 for 37, or 30 percent, in third-down conversions (down from 38.7 percent on the season).

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Granted, the opponents have been San Francisco, the New York Jets and the Rams – all among the NFL’s worst offensive teams – but the defense is making strides. New England has had 10 sacks in the three games and it has forced four turnovers – two fumble recoveries and two interceptions – in the last two.

Asked if he felt the defense had turned the corner, Long said, “We’re moving in the right direction but you never really turn that corner. You’re always looking ahead and trying to improve. We sure do have a host of things we want to improve on this week going into a game like this against a really good opponent.”

The Patriots are not going to be satisfied with these latest results. That’s not the way they operate.

“We’re playing good ball and doing what we got to do to get off the field on defense and stopping the running backs as best we can,” said defensive tackle Alan Branch. “But we’ve got to take it one week at a time.”

Especially this time of year. December is when playoff hopes are realized or crushed. It’s also when the Patriots seem to be at their best. Since 2001, the year of their first Super Bowl championship, the Patriots have the NFL’s best record in December games, at 55-10. Pittsburgh is next at 47-19.

Safety Devin McCourty said the team talks constantly about playing its best down the stretch.

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But that’s easier said than done, McCourty said.

“Just talking about it doesn’t mean that it’s automatically going to happen. It’s up to the guys to go out there each day in practice and try to get better, at a time in the season when some people are just trying to get by and hurting.”

For McCourty, all the talk about an improved defense still comes down to one thing: winning.

“That’s what we’ve got to keep focusing on,” he said. “It’s a week-by-week thing with us. We’ve been getting better. We’ve just got to stick to that path and what we’ve been doing and we’ll be all right.”


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