Bedard: Patriots, led by their defense (really), finally look like their championship selves

FOXBOROUGH — In a corner of the Patriots' locker room, after their stir-the-echoes 23-7 domination of the Falcons on Sunday night, Devin McCourty was asked what had changed on the defensive side of the ball this week.

For weeks, even in the previous win over the Jets, the unit had struggled to put it all together. From the pass rush and coverage combinations, to the fits in the running game, it was all disjointed. Only rarely, for a series or two here or there, did the Patriots resemble the unit that led the league in scoring 15.6 points per game, and eighth in yards allowed.

But against the defending NFC champion Falcons of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, Alex Mack, and Mohamed Sanu, the Patriots recaptured their former glory.

That NFL-record string of six-straight games allowing a 300-yard passer?

Poof. Ryan was limited to 233 yards.

Those 33 plays of 20-plus yards allowed (5.5 per game), which tied for 29th in the league?

Patriots allowed the high-powered Falcons just two plays of over 20 yards, and one came in garbage time when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

There's no way — without Stephon Gilmore and Eric Rowe — the Patriots would be able to contain Jones and Sanu with only Malcolm Butler and his Merry Band of Misfit DBs, right?

Jones and Sanu combined for 15 receptions on 23 targets (65 percent) for 164 yards and one, late (loved only by fantasy football players) touchdown.

And, most importantly, the league's third-worst scoring defense (26.5 average) held the Falcons scoreless for 55 minutes, 51 seconds of game time.

So why, suddenly in the seventh game of the season, did it finally click for the Patriots on defense?

Good old fashioned fear of being embarrassed against a very good opponent.

"Everybody knew from Monday after we put the Jets film to bed, we were kind of like, 'When we come in here on Wednesday (to start prep for the Falcons), we better be on it,'" McCourty told BostonSportsJournal.com.

"You can have an up-and-down beginning, but when you play against a really good team, it’s either we’re on it, or we’re going to get our doors blown off. I think that was that kind of feeling."

Basically, the Patriots realized playtime was over. They could afford to diddle against the Chiefs in the opener (that happens), survive a rookie quarterback (Houston), have the worst of days (against Carolina), and play enough winning football (against the Bucs and Jets) and survive. But to fall flat against a talented opponent they know well like the Falcons? Sounds like even then the Patriots would have acknowledged privately they were in some trouble.

But in the kind of performance that goes as a proverbial statement game in 31 other NFL cities, at an amped up Razor, the Patriots were just — finally (and way later than the norm) — themselves.

This game was a throwback for the defense. They got big plays from the likes of Adam Butler (first career sack) and Kyle Van Noy (4th-and-goal from the 1 with the game in doubt). Role players such as Johnson Bademosi stepped up and delivered when called upon to stop drives. Veterans like Patrick Chung looked comfortable executing new duties (Chung covering Jones?). There were spin-the-dial coverage responsibilities that allowed the Patriots to keep Ryan and Co. off-balance all game long.

Basically, the Patriots just executed well for 60 minutes for arguably the first time all season. That sounds simple, but for this group, it has been a monumental challenge.

Why? Well, it seems to be moot now, but it's important to tell the tale if this is the launching point for this group. McCourty, one of the captains of the group, said the personnel changes from '16 to '17 were more difficult to overcome than they let on.

"A lot of guys we lost had been here," McCourty confided. "You’re talking about Logan (Ryan), (Rob) Ninkovich — those guys were here for a while. And even the way Chris Long was able to fit in so well.... We lost some guys who were key. Even Jamie (Collins) was (traded) halfway through the season. And then Shea (McClellin) not starting (this) season...."

And now, in Week 7?

"Roles start to define," McCourty said. "To me, we’re playing way more confident than we’ve played all season. Especially in the back end, knowing what we’ve got. Like I said earlier in the season, it’s not just communication, it’s guys, like when the formation breaks, they’re looking at the safety or at someone saying, ‘I know the call, hurry up, give it to me.’ So it's not like, ‘What’s the call?’ like it was earlier. So, we’re getting in that groove where you’ve got to be as a defense."

Even though these are the Patriots, only their most fervent fans would be willing to take this one, truly great, performance and declare all their ills cured. Gilmore and Rowe will be back in the lineup, and will have to show that they too are capable of executing the defense.

Then there are the upcoming opponents, starting with the suddenly frisky Chargers and Philip Rivers (winners of three-straight over the Giants, Raiders and Broncos), and continuing Oakland and Denver.

So this was a huge, perhaps season-changing, step in the right direction for the players formerly known as the Gang That Couldn't Cover Straight. And now they have a chance to show this wasn't a one-night-only fluke, against a talented but scuffling Atlanta offense, in the coming weeks.

But for one night, at least, it was nice to see they still had it in them.