It might have been past your bedtime on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning, but Christian Barmore's postgame press conference in Denver was a good snapshot into who the third-year player has become for the Patriots both on and off the field.
He's a fast talker; at times, the words tumble out at such a rate you need to hit rewind and go back to listen, and even then, one time isn't enough. Sometimes, those words seem to surprise even Barmore himself, but what's not surprising is how far and fast the former Alabama product has come this season.
After his one-man wrecking crew showing against the Broncos - he had three sacks - Barmore is now up to 8.5 on the year and is getting recognition from folks who get paid to talk about the league but haven't had much reason to pay attention to the 4-11 Patriots. The people inside Gillette Stadium know it's well-deserved.
"He's been doing that for a while now," said Steve Belichick. "I'm glad that the recognition is more widely spread. Barmore does a great job. He always does. That guy is a bull in a china shop. I love his competitiveness, his attitude, his approach. Happy he's on our team. He's made some big plays for us."
"It's huge,' said Jerod Mayo. "Anytime you can make backs stop their feet behind the line of scrimmage, it's always beneficial. If you can get after the quarterback in passing situations, obviously, it helps the coverage. We always talk about marrying up the rush and the coverage. Having a guy like Barmore, especially playing at the level he's playing at right now, is definitely a huge benefit for the success of our defense."
Barmore had the reputation of being a good pass rusher coming out of Tuscaloosa. Still, he's rounded out his game nicely, taking significant steps before our eyes as the season progresses, handling double teams at the point of attack, maintaining a consistent pad level, and using his hands to his advantage even on early downs.
"We always really believed that he was a really good pass rusher," added Mayo, "You see it every day in practice. I would say when you look at his discipline in the run game, it has really been more surprising, at least to me. ... I would say as a player, he's really matured and become an early down and a third down player at the defensive tackle position, which is very good for us."
Maturity is the word that comes up repeatedly when talking to staffers about Barmore. He is a first-time father now, and after a season plagued by injury, he devoted himself like never before in the offseason, be it in the weight room, agility training, and overall recovery, to make sure he could be the player we all saw burst onto the scene as a rookie.
"So for Barmore, I think obviously this is year three for him - with me working with him - I think for all of us, we try to grow - myself, you, all of us in this building, just us as human beings - we try to grow in every aspect of our lives," said defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington. "Every year, he's been getting better, growing on the field, off the field. We're proud of the way he's worked."
Covington was in constant contact with Barmore this offseason, ensuring his prized protege was doing what was needed. Barmore always responded quickly to his coach, just as quickly as he explained his thought process on game day.
"Make my defense proud. Make my coaches proud. And just come here - they always tell me - "Hey, dominate.' I say yes, sir."
As contract extension eligible this offseason, Barmore is looking at a pretty penny. His agent even tweeted about backing up the Brinks Truck Sunday. But the player is not ready to go there...yet. For now, it's about one thing and one thing only. "I'm focused on football."
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER (AND MOST DESIRED)
The number one seed in the AFC is up for grabs Sunday afternoon when Baltimore hosts Miami. The Ravens, who currently hold a one-game lead over the Dolphins, can lock up the first-round bye by taking care of Tua and company, but if the Fins prevail and win in week 18, they'll get an extra week of rest.
"A lot of motivation, but I believe we were already motivated," said Lamar Jackson. "Like I always say, we're chasing right now. I believe we're locked in."
"This is what it's all about," said Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb. "Just being in a big moment with two great teams that are going at it. This is what you live for. This is what you work so hard in the offseason for. At the end of the day, this is not the end goal. We still have a lot to do and a lot to prove. This is just one step in the right direction."
Jackson has said the Ravens have embraced the underdog mentality. But obviously, aside from a pundit here or there, that doesn't hold true anymore. They're the odds-on favorite to emerge from the AFC and play in the Super Bowl.
"Keeping a level head is the most important thing for us right now because now the narrative is changing," said Jackson. "It was just, 'This team is ... the Ravens; we don't know about the Ravens.' Now it's, 'Oh, they're the No. 1 team.' So, we're not paying (any) mind to that. I feel like that's bait - that's clickbait. And like I said, we're trying to make it to February, so we're going to take it a game at a time."
The Ravens are coming off arguably the best win for any team this season, going to San Francisco on Christmas night and stomping the 49ers. Earlier in the year, they cooled off both the Lions and Seahawks when they were rolling, which might have been the best 2-game stretch for any team this year. They are battle-tested, hardened by a tough schedule, and anxious to do something they have done under Jackson: make a deep run in the postseason.
On the other hand, the Dolphins finally beat a team with a winning record on Sunday, knocking off the Cowboys.
They had been 0-3 prior.
"It's just finally good to get over that hump of the narrative and changing the narrative to be what we want it to be and how we want to approach everything, and it's just been dope to see this team come together, not worry about the outsiders, the naysayers and just do what we do and prepare like we're a championship team each and every week," said Chubb. "I got emotional with the 'who can't' because at the end of the day, we put our heart and put our soul into this, and for somebody to tell us we can't do it, we're going to want to go out there and prove them wrong every time."
This will be the first time the two teams have met since last season when the Dolphins overcame a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 42-38. The Dolphins scored 28 points in the final 15 minutes, and Tua Tagovailoa finished with six TD passes, tying the franchise record. That was Tua's coming out party.
"He had success in the second half," recalled Mike McDaniel. "What makes Tua unique, and one of the reasons why I have so much belief and trust in him, is he was more focused on the first half. That's what occupies his mind. From that game to where we're at now, he would say to himself there's been definite highs. You can just look at his numbers. It's really, really, really hard to play the quarterback position at the level that he plays it at. But there's also been so many things that's learned from as well. I feel like in that game, he was probably, let's say, arbitrarily, he was 20 years old. Now, I feel like he's 32, still in his prime."
Tua will be tested. The Ravens are number one in scoring defense, sacks, and takeaways.
WORST TRADE EVER?
With news that the Broncos are benching Russell Wilson, now is an excellent time to review that incredible trade and contract handed out to the former Super Bowl champ.
On the latter, the five-year, $242-million extension Wilson signed has yet to kick in. He's still owed $39 million next year, regardless of where he ends up, and $37 mil for 2025 will be guaranteed for 2025 shortly before free agency begins in March (which is why he'll be a goner by then).
Wilson is just 11-19 as the Denver starter, with 42 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, and has completed just 63% of his passes.
"I can't replace the entire offensive line, I can't bring in five new receivers, and if it continues over a period of time, then there will be another guy talking to you as well," said head coach Sean Payton while acknowledging economics played a role as well.
As for the deal itself, Denver traded three players (Noah Fant, Drew Lock, and Shelby Harris) and four draft picks in the 2022 and 2023 drafts (Charles Cross, Devon Witherspoon, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall). They also flipped a 2022 draft pick (Tyreke Smith). For those wondering, that's a starting tight end, left tackle, corner, edge rusher, and backup QB. Hall has had a quiet rookie year. Harris played a ton last year but was cut this preseason, and Smith is on IR.
Former Patriot Jarrett Stidham is expected to start the final two games. He did the same last season for the Raiders when they decided to move on from Derek Carr.
NERD NUMBERS
- Bailey Zappe has a 111.6 passer rating in the 1st half of 2023 (3rd in NFL, min. 4 starts). Only Tagovailoa (116.6) and Dak Prescott (113.9) have a higher 1st-half passer rating. Zappe in the second half? A 62.8 passer rating, which is 3rd-worst in the NFL, min. 4 starts.
- Dalton Kincaid is second on the Bills with 62 receptions (502 rec yds, 2 TDs). Kincaid led the Bills with 8 receptions and 75 yards in Week 7 at NE. Kincaid needs 4 receptions in Week 17 to pass Sammy Watkins (65 receptions in 2014) for the most receptions by a rookie in Buffalo history.
- Montez Sweat leads the Bears with six sacks in 2023 (they traded for Sweat before Week 9). Sweat also leads the Commanders with 6.5 sacks and would be the first player to lead multiple teams in sacks in the same season.
- Michael Pittman has tied his career high with 99 receptions in 2023 (6th-most in NFL). He has 30.3% of Colts' receptions this season, the 2nd-highest in the NFL, trailing only A.J. Brown: 30.6.