Lately, the Patriots' defense has been best when it has meant most

FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots’ defensive numbers have improved across the board since the middle of the season, but the most dramatic change has come late in games.


Over the final eight regular-season games of the season, the Patriots allowed just 18 fourth-quarter points. There was a garbage-time score and two-point conversion in a blowout of the Raiders on Nov. 19, a meaningless touchdown in the Nov. 26 win to the Dolphins, and a field goal in the final frame of the Dec. 31 win over the Jets.

In between, the New England defense was able to pitch a goose egg in the fourth quarter of every one of those games, and a big reason why the Patriots have gone 7-1 down the stretch.

It’s a big difference from earlier in the season. The Patriots allowed 21 fourth-quarter points in the opener against the Chiefs, and 10 in an Oct. 1 loss to the Panthers. Those two games represent almost half of all the fourth-quarter points -- 85 -- New England has allowed this season.

But since the early stumble, the totals have been trending in the right direction. According to veteran Duron Harmon, it’s been about establishing a defensive mindset of finishing strong.

“We talk about finishing a lot,” said Harmon after practice on Wednesday. “Great football teams, they always finish. They always play their best football in the fourth quarter. That’s something we harp on, that’s something we go over each and every day, and I think it’s a mindset that we’re starting to have.”

“He said it the best: it’s a mindset,” Deatrich Wise said when told of Harmon’s philosophy. “We’d love to have a shutout every quarter, but my Dad always said that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.”

At the same time, the Patriots’ defense has also benefited from leads in most of those games. Six of the eight games could be classified as blowouts (or at least called easy wins). When you are comfortably ahead in those situations and you know a team has to throw to get back into games, they’re suddenly one-dimensional. And it’s easier defending one dimension instead of having to worry about two.

“Special teams have been giving us longer fields to defend. Our offense has done well to maybe make teams try to throw the ball or not have all their tools,” said Alan Branch. “When you know they have to throw the ball, you know what’s coming your way.”

The flip side? The defense has also come away with some big plays in important moments to do its part, like Harmon's dramatic goal-line takeaway late in the December win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh, one of 10 fourth-quarter picks he has for his career. Complementary football goes both ways.

“Ending the games without having a team score on you is something we need going into the postseason,” Branch added. “Being able to stop teams in the clutch is a big deal.”

Ultimately, the goal is to continue to play four shutout quarters (interestingly enough, the Patriots have yet to hold a team scoreless this year). But if you can keep them off the board at crunch time, you’ve gone a long way toward doing your job.

“We want to be a team that finishes,” said Harmon. “Championship football teams, they finish. And that’s what we’re trying to become.”