FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – One of the themes among New England Patriots defenders after Thursday’s 27-0 victory over the Houston Texans was righting what they felt was a wrong.
“As a secondary, we were disappointed in the way we played [against Miami] a couple days ago,” safety Devin McCourty said. “It was big for us [to respond].”
The secondary did just that with its best performance of the season.
“That left a bad taste in all of our mouths [against Miami] the way the second half went,” said safety Duron Harmon.
The coverage was tighter, and the personnel approach a bit different, which is a springboard to lead off the snap-count analysis with the defensive backs:
Total offensive snaps: 64
Total defensive snaps: 71
CORNERBACK
Malcolm Butler – 71
Logan Ryan – 71
Cyrus Jones – 33
Justin Coleman – 0
After Coleman’s struggles in the second half against Miami, the Patriots gave his No. 3 reps to Jones, their top draft pick. Butler, playing through an ankle injury, was impressive. As was Ryan.
SAFETY
Devin McCourty – 71
Duron Harmon – 69
Patrick Chung – 68
The Patriots’ primary defensive grouping was a three-safety nickel, which struck the right balance between being stout enough against the run, but competitive against the pass. That’s why Harmon, the No. 3 safety, had such a high snap count. The versatility of Chung and McCourty to move to a a corner-type responsibility or into the box to defend the run also showed up at times.
LINEBACKER
Jamie Collins – 71
Jonathan Freeny – 41
Barkevious Mingo – 0
Elandon Roberts – 0
With Dont’a Hightower inactive for the second straight game with a knee injury, Collins was immense with a team-high 14 tackles. Mingo tied for the lead with 21 special-teams snaps.
DEFENSIVE END
Chris Long – 55
Jabaal Sheard – 53
Trey Flowers – 43
Shea McClellin -- 25
Sheard’s two sacks contributed to the shutout.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Alan Branch – 36
Malcom Brown – 31
Anthony Johnson -- 23
Vincent Valentine – 20
Branch, Brown and Valentine were generally stout inside against the run, while Johnson got after it in passing situations and finished with four tackles. When he delivered a fourth-quarter hit on Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler, Bill Belichick clapped his hands together repeatedly in approval like a proud papa.
RUNNING BACK
LeGarrette Blount -- 46
James White – 16
Brandon Bolden – 2
Blount’s four rushing touchdowns in the first three games tie Marion Butts (1994) and Corey Dillon (2004) for the most through three games in Patriots history.
FULLBACK
James Develin – 24
When the lead fullback plays on 37.5 percent of the snaps, it provides a snapshot of the run-first plan and hard-nosed overall approach.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT Nate Solder -- 64
LG Joe Thuney -- 64
C David Andrews -- 64
RG Shaq Mason -- 64
RT Marcus Cannon – 64
OT/TE Cameron Fleming – 15
There was no more rotation at right guard between Mason and rookie Ted Karras, or at left tackle as Solder went wire to wire for the first time since returning from a hamstring injury in Week 2.
TIGHT END
Martellus Bennett – 63
Rob Gronkowski – 14
Clay Harbor – 3
Gronkowski was mostly used to block as he was eased back into the mix upon his return from a hamstring injury. Bennett has now played 212 of a possible 215 offensive snaps this season.
WIDE RECEIVER
Chris Hogan – 57
Julian Edelman – 48
Malcolm Mitchell -- 17
Danny Amendola – 13
Matthew Slater – 2
Hogan and Edelman were the primary two-receiver package, while Mitchell and Amendola split reps in the three-receiver grouping. Amendola might not be playing much, but he’s making a big impact.
QUARTERBACK
Jacoby Brissett – 64
He was awarded the game ball in the locker room afterward in another special, behind-the-scenes team moment.