FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the common theories about defensive backs is that if they’re making a lot of tackles, your defense is usually in trouble.

Not so with the New England Patriots.

Their starting defensive backs – cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler and safeties Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty – are four of the team’s top five tacklers, with only linebacker Dont’a Hightower breaking the top five.

That usually doesn’t happen. In fact, only once in the last 10 years (2015) have four defensive backs been atop the Patriots tackle list.

The hard-hitting defensive backs will need to be at their best on Sunday when the Patriots play the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC championship at Gillette Stadium at 6:40 p.m. New England hasn’t faced an offense this balanced or dangerous in a while – possibly since the first week of the season when they took on the Arizona Cardinals.

Ryan led New England during the regular season with 92 tackles, followed by Chung (91), McCourty (83), Hightower (65, in 13 games) and Butler (63). Defensive tackle Malcom Brown was next with 50.

But the Patriots didn’t suffer from this unbalanced production. They were first in the NFL in fewest points allowed per game (15.6) and, perhaps aided by that secondary support, had the league’s third-best rush defense (88.6 yards per game). New England’s defense ranked eighth overall (326.4 yards) and 12th against the pass (237.9 yards).

Those are the best across-the-board defensive rankings for New England in a decade, matching up closely with the 2007 defense that was ranked fourth in points allowed, fourth in overall defense, 10th against the run and sixth against the pass.

That defense, part of a 16-0 regular season, was led by a group of linebackers that made up four of the team’s top five tacklers: Tedy Bruschi (99), Adalius Thomas (82), Mike Vrabel (77) and the late Junior Seau (73). Defensive tackle Ty Warren had 83.

This season’s defense has a different look, but has been just as impressive. And the secondary takes a lot of pride in its ability to make tackles.

“Our coaching staff lets us know we need 11 guys on the field that are tacklers, that are willing to tackle and go out there and make big tackles,” said McCourty. “I think you see that … whether it’s in the run support or if a guy catches a ball in the open field, tackling is a key part of not giving up big plays. So it’s something we pride ourselves on and believe if we don’t give up the big play we give ourselves a good chance to win.”

With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Steelers have a trio that can take over a game and dominate. Pittsburgh’s offensive line is also one of the NFL’s best, a group that gave up only 21 sacks on the season and dominated Kansas City’s defense in last week’s divisional playoff.

The secondary was ranked third in the NFL this season by Pro Football Focus (a web site that grades players and units at every position). Not only will it need to contend with Brown – look for Butler to cover him man-to-man with some safety help – but also help with Bell, who has rushed for 337 yards in Pittsburgh’s two playoff games.

The Patriots know they can’t give up big plays and the secondary’s run support – whether it’s the cornerbacks containing the outside or a safety coming up to make a tackle in the middle – is a big key to that.

“The front seven usually has their responsibility in the running game, but there are going to be times in every game and with every team when the ball gets through the front seven and the secondary has to be that next line of defense,” said Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. “And those are plays that could be five or six yards, or they could be 60 yards if not played properly, or tackled well by the safeties and the corners. So, corners and safeties are a big part of the perimeter game, but they’re also a big part of that secondary net that comes behind the front seven when the ball gets through there to do a good job of leveraging and tackling, and then keeping those runs to minimal gains.”

New England has done a good job of limiting those big plays. The Patriots gave up only four runs of over 20 yards this season. None came after Oct. 30, when the Patriots gave up three such runs to the Bills. Since then, the two longest runs the Patriots have allowed have been for 17 and 14 yards, both by San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Duron Harmon, who comes in to play safety on sub-packages, said the secondary only deserves some of the praise, crediting defensive linemen like Alan Branch, Trey Flowers, Brown and others. “They do a great job of making it easier for the support players, like the safeties or even the linebackers, of not allowing the offensive linemen to get up on them,” he said.

But Belichick added the secondary has more than held its own this year, especially when it comes to tackling.

“Pass coverage plays into it, I understand that and there’s a place for players that can cover other players and not allow them to get the ball, but in the end, somebody’s got to get the guy with the ball on the ground,” Belichick said. “So, the more good tacklers you have on defense, probably the better you’re going to be defensively.

“They work hard at it,” he said of the defensive backs. “A lot of it is leverage and angles, and using your help, knowing where the other player is coming from so you condense the space and limit the runner’s options. And then a lot of it is just good, fundamental tackling, technique.”

Mike Tomlin, the Steelers head coach, is certainly impressed with New England’s secondary, both when defending the pass and supporting the run, noting that they are fundamentally sound in all phases.

“They’re a rock-solid group,” he said. “They’re great at playing the football. They’re great leverage players. They’re good at (quarterback) keying and angles to the football … They’re a very good group.”

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

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