What Was Your Biggest Take Away from Sunday’s Game?

Raj: My biggest take away from last Sunday’s game is that the New England defense is for real and can be relied upon. Most of the years after the Patriots last won a Super Bowl, they were still a solid team offensively, but the defense was less than stellar. But because the Patriots have Brady, the team still found ways to win games. Now? The Patriots have a defense. If the offense can’t get it done, the defense will still keep them in the game and that is exactly what we saw in San Diego last Sunday night. That defense still didn’t let the Chargers score on will and gave Brady’s offense enough opportunities to score. Eventually they did and that’s why the Patriots are 10-3 instead of 9-4 right now. This team just got a whole lot formidable now that there’s a reliable defensive squad.

Rick: The biggest takeaway from Sunday’s game was the defense and the play of Jamie Collins. Without Donta Hightower and Chandler Jones, Collins did a great job of rushing the quarterback up the middle, resulting in eight tackles and two sacks. Very quietly, New England has 6.5 sacks in the last two games. The other impressive factor of that unit from last week was the way they played after the Browner penalty. With the offense a little bit down the last two weeks, the defense continues to shine against some solid quarterbacks. That is a good sign going forward when you know that you have a defense that is capable of winning a tough game on the road when the offense isn’t at their best.

Kyle: The biggest takeaway from Sunday’s game was the fact that this Patriots team is as tough a group as has been in Foxboro in a long time. The defense makes quick,affective adjustments and they are very aggressive. They hit all day long, and they are not intimidated by anybody. If they attack, like they did Sunday, they are a championship defense.

Derek: As the others have mentioned, Sunday was all about the defense.  That game was exactly the type of contest that has knocked the Pats out of the playoffs the previous four years.   The offense struggles early, but the game is close at half time.  You expect the Patriots to come out swinging in the second half, but the offense never finds its rythm, while the defense can’t hold, and you spend the last five minutes of the game in agony hoping for the Patriots to string together the big drive that never comes.  The difference on Sunday was that the defense held.  San Diego kept going three and out, the offense kept getting the ball back, and finally things clicked with that Edelman touchdown.  It seems like the Patriots have finally found the cure for what ails them.