Patriots defense on potential historic path and Belichick knows it

The New England Patriots' defense has not surrendered a touchdown. Heck, it really hasn't been challenged if you look at it objectively.

But here comes the asterisk, and it's not being placed on the top-rated unit in the game from this corner or anywhere else outside the locker room.

None other than Bill Belichick will not only let his troops know just what they've done over the first two weeks, allowing three points total. Belichick will note to his crew in Monday morning films that its opposition so far has exactly zero victories this year and that the starting quarterbacks New England has faced have thrown twice as many touchdowns passes to Patriots as they have to their own teammates.

But that's Belichick. And he knows something special is brewing here. How else can you explain the insatiable 2007-esque fourth-quarter attitude – complete with Tom Brady tossing TD passes, timeouts being called and blitzes ruthlessly punishing young Josh Rosen?

Prevent defense? Forget it, folks. Not with so much history potentially on the line.

“It's always good, always good. You don't let them score, you can't lose,” said Belichick of the shutout.

He went on to note, “We're playing 60 minutes.”

This defense is on a historic run, and we know how important the past and finding a place in the record books is for Belichick. He's a student of this game. It drives him. And unlike 2007, when it was Brady, Randy Moss, and the offense carving up the competition, this time it's on Bill's side of the football. He must have been unrestrainable, re-watching this one with Ernie Adams on the plane ride home.

The Patriots allowed Brian Flores' fish just 184 yards of offense on 61 plays, that's 3 yards a snap for those of you calculating at home. In addition, Miami was just 2 of 15 on third down.

“Everyone is playing very selfless,” said safety Devin McCourty, who had one of the four Patriots interceptions in this one. “We talked about it last week, just getting around the ball, you saw that today. Do those things, turnovers will come. If we can turn the ball over, we'll be able to put up a lot of points.”

Special. It's a word overused, even in this dynasty of Patriot proportions.

Going back to Super Bowl LIII against the Rams, it marks the first time a Belichick-coached defense has gone three straight games without allowing a touchdown since the 1992 Cleveland Browns did it.

New England has not allowed a touchdown in 12 straight quarters. You have to go back all the way to 1982 for the last Pats team to go 10 quarters without a TD. The '82 Pats closed out the second half against the Bears without a score, then went on to shut out Miami and Seattle in successive weeks.

Sunday, Miami, a shell of an NFL team, made things easy on the Patriots. This was not the football SATs. But New England, as it was against the Rams back in February and against Pittsburgh last week, were opportunistic and fearless.

Jamie Collins (five tackles, two interceptions) and Chase Winovich (1.5 sacks) made athletic plays from the edge. Elandon Roberts was stout (five tackles). It wasn't just scheme. It was talent, and it was attitude.

“Those guys are really good. We go against them every day. They challenge us,” said Patriots running back James White. “They're very talented, in the front seven, and on the back end.

"When they play together, it's very exciting.”

Exciting, and at this rate staring down the Sam Darnold-less Jets and Josh Allen's Bills in the next two weeks, they are laying the foundation for potential defensive history.