Patriots' defense keeps moving in right direction in rout of Raiders

Another week, another positive outing for the Patriots’ defense.


It seems like years ago we were talking about the struggles of the New England defense. About miscommunication, missed players and an inability to prevent any offense from putting up 30-plus points. And it was bad: The Patriots allowed 32 points per game over the first four games of the season. It was the worst average in the league in that span over the first four weeks.

Fast forward five weeks. In that stretch, New England has allowed an average of 12.5 points per game. That includes just eight in Sunday’s 33-8 blowout of the Raiders. It marked the fifth-straight week where an opponent failed to break the 17-point barrier on the Patriots, and third consecutive game where an opponent was held to just one touchdown.

On Sunday, the Raiders were able to post some quality numbers, like Marshawn Lynch (11 carries for 67 yards) and Michael Crabtree (six catches, 51 yards). But most of their positive totals came as a result of rolling up yardage in garbage time when New England was more than willing to trade yards for clock.

“They made some plays,” said safety Devin McCourty. “But I thought we executed our game plan and did exactly what we wanted to do.”

That included a pair of first-half takeaways when the game was still in doubt. The first came on a tipped Derek Carr pass than landed nearly in the hands of Duron Harmon. The second took place when Oakland was driving for a touchdown, but Marquis Flowers punched the football away from Oakland wide receiver Seth Roberts. The ball was recovered by Pat Chung, and it jumpstarted a sequence of events that fundamentally ended the ballgame.

Granted, the stats need to be placed in context (especially when you consider the overall quality of the opponent), but it’s clear that the Patriots defense is heading in the right direction at the right time of year. What’s the reason for the turnaround at this time of year as opposed to the first month of the season?

“We’re just playing together. We’re executing,” McCourty said. “Like I said, every year, you kind of have to learn who you are. I know you guys ask us early in the season all the time, ‘What’s your identity? I think we’re kind of figuring that out. We’re understanding how we need to prepare. How we need to practice.

“You see it paying off on Sunday’s when we’re going out there. Everyone running around, everyone knows their job. It’s all about execution,” he added. “I think we’re a blue-collar team. We have to go out there and work hard.”