Patriots' defense wins battle of third and fourth down vs. Atlanta

FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots’ defense swears it didn’t feel disrespected by the fact that the Falcons went for it on fourth down three times on Sunday night, but it probably wasn’t coincidental that Atlanta took as many shots on fourth down as it did Sunday night.

The New England defense had heard from plenty of critics heading into Sunday’s game, and so it wasn’t a shock to see the Falcons try and make it happen on three different occasions. But after Atlanta was able to convert on their first fourth-down attempt — a Matt Ryan scramble with just under four minutes left in the first quarter — the Patriots denied them on the other two. You combine that success on fourth down with an ability to hold the high-powered Atlanta passing game to 2-for-9 on third down, and you have a recipe for success.

"We didn’t make all of the plays, but when big plays came up we were able to make those plays," said coach Bill Belichick. "When those plays needed to be made we stepped up and we were able to make most of them."



The first came on the Falcons’ final drive of the first half, when Ryan was off-the-mark on a pass play for Mohamed Sanu deep down the left side. The second came on the first series in the fourth quarter when linebacker Kyle Van Noy sniffed out a jet sweep and dropped wide receiver Taylor Gabriel for a five-yard loss on the New England 1-yard line.

Those two plays — as well as Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant missing a pair of field-goal attempts (one from 37 and one from 36) — made it a miserable night on fourth-down for the Falcons.

But you won’t hear the Patriots saying they felt disrespected by Atlanta’s decision making.

“I wouldn’t say disrespected because that’s just the Falcons believing in their offense,” explained safety Duron Harmon when asked about Atlanta’s decision to go for it on fourth as often as they did. “We have to believe in our defense. We didn’t on the first one, but we got the second one. No disrespect. That’s the game of football. They’re going to try and put themselves in the best position to win, and we’re going to try and do the same.”

“This was a big game. They were pressing. They were trying to win,” said cornerback Jonathan Jones. “They were going for it on fourth and being aggressive and we were able to step up and make a couple of good plays.”

“Obviously, (they) were going out there and try to make sure stuff happen,” said defensive lineman Alan Branch. “I don’t fault them for going for it. Two times it happened, it would have either been a crazy long field goal or a short punt. So it didn’t surprise me.”