FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Through the first five games this season, the New England Patriots had a rather mediocre run defense. The Patriots were winning, but giving up an average of 114.2 yards per game to rank 22nd in the NFL.

These last three games, however, have been vastly different.

In victories over the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Washington, the Patriots have given up just 141 rushing yards and an average of 2.4 per carry. They entered Sunday’s 27-10 victory over Washington ranked seventh against the run. After giving up just 37 yards on 15 rushes, that should improve.

The Patriots are now giving up just 89.3 yards per game.

“Guys are just executing,” said defensive end Chandler Jones. “It’s an example of guys believing into what Coach (Bill) Belichick and Coach (Matt) Patricia are preaching. And it shows on the film. Coaches are drawing up great game plans and the players are executing.”

Linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who had a fumble recovery after defensive tackle Alan Branch blew up a run and knocked the ball out of Matt Jones’ hands, said it also shows the maturity of the defense.

“It’s not just one thing,” he said. “Collectively as a unit, we want to continue to get better as these weeks roll on. It’s young guys getting experience. That’s huge. A lot of the younger guys, early in the season, they were getting their playing time early and they’re learning while you’re out on the game field.”

Branch said the run defense has been coming on for a while.

“We’ve stressed that from Day 1,” he said. “We just haven’t been able to get the productivity of our hard work during practice. But the last four games we’ve been doing pretty well.”

CHANDLER JONES might have had the best postgame quote. Asked if he’s getting more attention now that he’s leading the NFL with 9.5 sacks, he said, “Whether people talk about me or not, at the end of the day I’m playing for my team. I’m playing for the Patriots’ logo on my chest, my teammates, my coaches … and I’m also playing to get my Madden rating up.”

THE PATRIOTS have tied an NFL record by scoring in 31 consecutive quarters. The only quarter in which the Patriots haven’t scored was the first of the season. The 2005 Indianapolis Colts also scored in 31 consecutive quarters, and the St. Louis Rams did it over two seasons, 1999 and 2000.

The Patriots also became the fourth defending Super Bowl champion to start the season 8-0. The others were Green Bay in 2011 (13-0), Denver in 1998 (13-0) and San Francisco in 1990 (10-0).

AFTER SCORING on the opening drive, the Patriots surprised Washington with an onside kick, which New England’s Jonathan Freeny recovered. It was the Patriots’ first successful onside kick since Dec. 8, 2013.

For those with short memories, that was the game in which the Patriots trailed Cleveland 26-14 with less than 2:00 to play. But after a touchdown pass to Julian Edelman cut it to 26-21, Kyle Arrington recovered an onside kick. Tom Brady then led the team to the winning touchdown on a pass to Danny Amendola with 35 seconds left.

BRANDON BOLDEN stepped in for the injured Dion Lewis and had a nice fourth quarter. He had a 12-yard run and caught three passes, including one for an 18-yard touchdown. That score came right after Brady called a timeout, not liking what he saw in the Washington defense.

“We had a particular play called in and I wasn’t sure,” said Brady.

So they changed plays and scored. Brady gave a lot of credit to Bolden. “We work on that a lot and it was great to see him in there and make a big play for us,” said Brady. “I love Brandon and everything he brings to our team.”

Bolden, a core special teams player, said he was ready to step in for Lewis.

“Bill (Belichick) prepares everybody for any and everything,” he said. “That’s what you saw out there today.”

CAMERON FLEMING had an eventful day. The second-year player, who started the season on the practice squad, started at right tackle. Then, after left tackle Sebastian Vollmer left because of a head injury in the second quarter, Fleming played the second half at left tackle – a position he had never played before.

“It a little bit exciting,” he said. “It’s cool. I liked it.”

Switching positions, he added, is nothing new for the offensive line. Bryan Stork, last year’s starting center, made his first appearance of the season and played both guard and right tackle.

“We practiced it, yeah we worked on rotating just in case something happened,” said Fleming. “We were definitely prepared.”

Brady was not sacked either, which “means a lot to us,” said Fleming. “That’s the name of the game.”

Fleming’s mother, Karen, was part of the Patriots’ salute to members of the military for Veterans Day. An Army colonel, she saluted when she was shown on the jumbo video screens.

“That was awesome to see,” said Fleming.

 

Copy the Story Link