Josh Uche making a major leap as pass-rushing force for New England’s defense

For over a year now, opposing offensive coordinators and O-linemen have routinely lost sleep at night thinking about a certain red-sleeved Patriots linebacker hovering just behind the line of scrimmage.

Those fears have been validated with just about every snap during Matthew Judon’s tenure with the Patriots, with the veteran linebacker already racking up 27 sacks through his first 30 games in New England. 

Judon’s pass-rushing prowess and propensity to steamroll past 300-pound guards have made him the focal point of a Patriots defense that will need to be relied on heavily if this team wants to punch its ticket to the playoffs. 

But for all of the accolades and baseline stats that Judon has accrued since arriving in New England, he’s rarely been one to sing his own praises when it comes to his momentum-shifting impact on just about every drive. 

Granted, some of that is part of the usual spiel doled out by veterans when it comes to not taking all of the spotlight. But in the case of Judon’s fellow linebacker in Josh Uche, those praises are more than backed up by the stat sheet. 

“I told y’all I was a pass rusher. People are going to have to block and if they don’t and if they chip my side then they worry about me. Uche would do that every week,” Judon said following New England’s victory over the Cardinals on Monday night. “I love the way he’s playing, the confidence and poise and it’s the most he’s been able to play since he’s been in the NFL.

“It’s taken a toll on him, but he’s going out there and having a lot of fun and success. We all knew it; we all knew what type of player he was. He was drafted pretty high here and now he’s emerging and offensive lines will have to watch out.”

Yes, New England’s most dynamic plays on defense have usually been a direct result of the pressure that Judon orchestrates — but Uche has been far from just a complementary cog in the Patriots' defense, especially down the final stretch of the season.

With a three-sack showing against Colt McCoy and the Cardinals, Uche is now up to 10 sacks through 11 games — crushing his previous career-high of three sacks over 12 games in 2021. And those pressures have come in bunches for the Michigan product over the last few weeks, with all 10 of those sacks (along with 28 QB pressures) coming in Uche’s last seven games.

If you want to compress it down even further, Uche has now posted five sacks and 11 pressures in his last two games alone — with the young linebacker finding different avenues to carve a path past an O-line. 

“That boy is a baller,” Raekwon McMillan said of Uche. “55 is going to show up and play ball every week.”

Given Uche’s elevated play as of late, Monday’s matchup provided a prime opportunity to inflict even more damage, especially against a Cardinals O-line that trotted out four backups. 

Still, for as much as Arizona’s offensive unit made things easy for New England by way of shooting themselves in the foot on multiple occasions, Uche’s contributions did put the final nail in the coffin for the Cardinals. 

With the Cardinals trailing by seven in the closing minutes of the third quarter, it looked as though McCoy and the home club were poised to knot the game up at 20 apiece — with McCoy leading Arizona on a seven-play drive that went 41 yards down the field.

But with the Cards backup QB looking deep for DeAndre Hopkins on a 2nd-and-13 from New England’s 40, McCoy’s volley was stunted by Uche — with his pass attempt falling well short and landing into the hands of Marcus Jones for the interception. 

Just five plays later, Pierre Strong punched into the end zone from three yards out, giving New England a commanding 27-13 lead in Glendale. 

Of course, while Judon and the rest of New England’s defensive corps are more than happy to direct praise toward their new pass-rushing specialist, Uche echoed a different — but still cliched — script when it came to his impact on the Patriots’ defense. 

“It’s something where everybody just has to do their job and whoever gets there, gets there,” Uche said. “We make sure that we’re executing our assignments and if (sacks) come, they come and if not it is what it is as long as we get the job done.”

For Uche, who has routinely rewarded New England’s coaching staff with the uptick in reps that he has received, Saturday’s three-sack outburst stood as just one piece of the greater product that the Patriots’ defense orchestrated on Monday night. 

But if the Patriots want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they’re going to need Uche to continue to wreak havoc as part of a two-headed monster next to Judon — a label that’s hard to dismiss, given the production put forth as of late.

“We’re going to work hard until the whistle blows,” Uche said of New England’s defense. “Until the whistle blows and until that clock hits zero, we’re giving it everything we’ve got. We’re playing for each other. It’s just relentless. I love those guys in the locker room and the love we have for each other, that’s what was on display tonight.”