FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After two weeks of outscoring the most productive offenses in the NFL, the New England Patriots extended their winning streak to seven games with impressive defense Sunday in a 34-9 taming of the Detroit Lions.
It was especially interesting coming on the heels of victories over those scoring machines known as the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.
Facing the No. 1 defense in the NFL, coach Bill Belichick’s defense gave Detroit a taste of its own medicine.
New England’s defense has been buoyed by veteran cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, both added in the offseason, and Revis and Browner shut down Detroit’s receiving duo of Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson.
Revis matched up primarily with Tate, who entered with a team-high 68 catches and 950 yards, while Browner bodied up with the bigger Johnson. Though Tate had a couple of plays early, including a 24-yard screen pass and 17-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive to a field goal, New England’s pass defense got the better of the matchups for the bulk of the 60 minutes.
That keyed a defensive effort that held Matthew Stafford and the Lions to just nine points, a mere 29 percent on third downs and a 49.5 passer rating as the quarterback completed just 18 of 46 attempts.
Sure, Tom Brady and the offense put up at least 34 points for the fourth straight week and sixth time in the last seven contests. But the defensive effort — which included holding Detroit running back Joique Bell to 48 yards on 19 carries — keyed the victory.
“I thought they played competitively, I really did,” Belichick said of his secondary. “I thought Brandon had a big matchup on Johnson, Revis on Tate. Those guys really competed well. (Patrick) Chung on the tight ends, (Kyle) Arrington on both the third receivers.”
Browner played probably the best of his five games as a Patriot, seemingly rounding into form after missing the first month to an NFL suspension. The veteran, who has given the defense a boost of physicality and contagious energy, is taking his role in its success in stride.
“It’s a game plan, man. The coaches believe in us at the cornerback spot and set up the perfect matchups for us,” Browner said. “Usually, I take the big guy. … I get up for it. And you put a shutdown corner on their shiftier guy. And it seemed to work.
“We’ve got good team defense,” Browner continued. “It goes hand in hand. Put us in man-to-man and (the coaches) trust that we’ll lock up and (won’t) let them guys loose. Force quarterbacks to hold the ball a little longer with tight defense, tight coverage and — you know, more than likely — (the pass rushers) will disrupt them or get the sack.”
Browner’s partner in the back end agrees.
“I just know that we come out and we play hard. We play tough,” Revis said. “This team is dialed in very well, and we execute well. It’s panning out for us. We’re working hard, and we’re dialing on these guys real good.”
With guys such as Manning, Luck and Stafford now in the rear-view mirror, the defense will have to dial in even further heading into a big battle in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers (8-3) on Sunday.
It marks another chance for Revis, Browner and the new-look Patriots pass defense to prove that Brady and Rob Gronkowski aren’t the only guys who can carry the Patriots toward a potential Super Bowl run.
New England may just have a championship-caliber defense for the first time in a decade.
The Patriots also received a boost from defensive end Rob Ninkovich, who played all 80 snaps.
The 30-year-old veteran played just about wire to wire last season for the Patriots, despite being somewhat undersized for a defensive end with his 6-2, 260-pound frame.
It’s nothing new, but Ninkovich’s durability and consistency are worth noting. He notched his team-leading sixth sack of the season in helping the Patriots shut down the Lions.
Belichick, who seldom issues public praise or punishment, made sure his feelings were known about Ninkovich, with whom he has a certain similarity.
“Rob’s a tough Croatian, tough Croatian kid,” said Belichick, himself very proud of his Croatian heritage. “He’s strong; he’s really strong for his size, been durable. He’s athletic, plays on his feet, runs well. He’s able to definitely take care of himself out there and play in a lot of different situations.”
Belichick said Ninkovich was a well-rounded, or complete defender.
“He’s strong enough to play against bigger people and athletic enough to play in some space and coverage situations, whatever the requirements are,” Belichick said.
“There are a lot of things that he can do. We were a little light at end yesterday without (Dominique) Easley. I don’t know how much that would have affected Rob’s playing time yesterday, but we were definitely light at the position going in there. Rob gives us a consistent level of play and gives us a lot of toughness and a lot of versatility. I don’t think anybody is looking to take him off the field.”