Patriots defense unaffected by lack of practice in Broncos loss

FOXBORO — They were talking about practice, man.

For most of the week, all the Patriots could do was reference practicing. To avoid a full COVID-19 breakout, they chose to meet virtually, follow a staggered workout schedule and complete most of their preparation for the Broncos away from the field. In fact, they held just one practice, last Thursday.

Yet when kickoff rolled around Sunday, no one would have known. Because despite going two weeks with barely seeing a field, their defense played like it had been practicing all along.

The Pats kept the Broncos out of the end zone and limited them to fewer than 300 total yards in Sunday’s 18-12 loss. Quarterback Drew Lock completed fewer than half his passes, unable to crack one of the league’s sharpest red-zone defenses. The Patriots’ performance backed against the goal line allowed them to survive their offense completely self-destructing through three quarters.

By the time Cam Newton and Co. found a rhythm, they remained in striking distance and nearly closed the gap thanks to two ensuing interceptions.

“That’s what we expect every week: to come out and keep fighting,” Pats cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. “It’s not going to be perfect, but we know we’re going to make plays, we’re going to keep fighting and we’re going to go try to get the ball back to our offense to make plays.”

Jonathan Jones grabbed the second pick, a marvelous, over-the-shoulder catch he made on a deep Lock pass down the middle. Earlier, Lock targeted Jones on three of his first four long balls, all of which fell incomplete. While he connected often enough to sustain certain drives, it was no accident the Broncos offense — which had kicked field goals to end every drive through the third quarter — suddenly collapsed when its fate was put on his shoulders.

Lock versus the Pats’ secondary was a mismatch all day.

“Obviously Jones has made a lot of big plays around this organization in general, but today he definitely played some great football,” said Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. “Obviously, we all have a lot to improve on as a defense, but Jones in particular played some great ball today. We all just have to get back to it.”

Denver’s rushing success could largely be explained by a decimated Pats defensive line. Projected starting nose tackle Beau Allen remains on injured reserve, where he’s joined by rookie linebacker Josh Uche. Allen’s replacement, Byron Cowart, was out after testing positive for COVID-19 days ago. Defensive tackle Adam Butler entered kickoff with a shoulder injury and left with a bad elbow that sidelined him for a series.

Like many Patriots, Bentley refused to admit the injuries or lack of practices were significant factors in their play. Of all people, perhaps he would know best.

Bentley finished with a game-high 12 tackles and a half-sack, a sharp improvement from his play in recent weeks.

“There are no excuses. I am not an excuse guy, so it is what it is,” he said. “We all knew going into this game today that there would be some adversity, and we plan to take it on and continue to take it on to the best of our ability.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ke4uRq