The New England Patriots moved to 3-0 for the seventh time during the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era after their 30-14 win over the New York Jets. Here are the grades for their defense.
Defensive Line
The Patriots allowed just 105 total yards, their best effort under Bill Belichick in his 20 seasons as the team’s head coach.
Much of that started with the defensive line, which stopped Le’Veon Bell dead in his tracks. Bell had just 35 yards on 18 carries, and the Jets rushed for just 36 yards total.
Danny Shelton lead the unit up front with four solo tackles.
Michael Bennett added a sack for the second straight game, moving around the defensive line, and Adam Butler and Chase Winovich each added in a share of a sack.
Butler was particularly spry in pressuring Jets quarterback Luke Faulk before he left with an injury.
Grade: A
Linebackers
Once again, Jamie Collins stole the show on defense. The veteran posed two sacks, another tackle for a loss and a near interception on a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.
Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy also added half a sack and played well in the front seven — although Hightower sustained an injury and left the game.
This unit did a great job limiting Bell, which was New York’s only real option on offense.
Grade: A+
Defensive Backs
Gilmore continues to completely erase receivers on the perimeter. He also nearly came up with a nifty sideline interception but couldn’t get his toes down.
Devin McCourty added an interception for the third straight game and Patrick Chung excelled in various matchups, even guarding Bell at times in the passing game.
Jets quarterback Luke Falk finished with just 98 yards passing and an interception.
Grade: A+
