Ted Johnson: Opponents ‘broke the code’ of Pats defense originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Defense was expected to be the New England Patriots’ strength heading into the 2024 season, but the group hasn’t held up its end of the bargain over the past two weeks.
The New York Jets had 400 yards in their 24-3 loss to the Patriots in Week 3, and the San Francisco 49ers had 431 yards. during their 30-13 victory on Sunday. In both games, New England’s passers failed to put pressure on the quarterback.
If you ask former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson, the defense was exposed in the team’s Week 2 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He explained what was wrong with the unit during Monday’s episode The breakdown.
“The Seattle Seahawks kind of broke the code with the Patriots defense,” Johnson said. “What Seattle did in Week 2 was they ran a lot of dry runs and a lot of hustle. And so, that forced the Patriots defense to become simple and more predictable in what it did. They want to be multiple, they want to disguise, they want to attack you from all these different angles And so, you see teams more spread out, more empty, so that makes the Patriots more predictable and less able to disguise, and. it hurts their defense.
“But also, just the rotation of guys, new guys. I mean, Dell Pettus is over there. Jaylinn Hawkins is over there. You’ve got new guys all over the place playing positions that they’re not used to. …It’s killing them. And I think Seattle has broken the code on them.”
Patriots insider Phil Perry pointed out the defense’s glaring inability to pressure the quarterback without Christian Barmore (8.5 sacks in 2023) and linebacker Matthew Judon (15.5 sacks in 2023) .
“I think they also have issues when it comes to their pass rush,” he said. “There’s not a ton of real quarterback talent up front outside of Keion White. I think that’s left them a little vulnerable in some other areas of their defense.”
The Patriots defense will look to get back on track when they host the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium next Sunday.
Watch the full episode of The breakdown below or on YouTube:
