Patriots Defense Overcomes Penalties to Lead New England to Victory

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense has bailed out shoddy defenses so many times over the last decade that most fans have lost track.

A dominant performance by the defense while Brady's offense sputtered? That is a rare gem indeed.

En route to a 23-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, the Patriots defense and special teams had to overcome multiple penalties—some self-inflicted, some imagined—that added to the degree of difficulty.

In addition to a false start by Dan Connolly on offense, the other two phases of the game accounted for five penalties for 65 yards.

That might not seem like much at first blush, but three of the Chargers' 13 first downs were off New England miscues. Penalties accounted for nearly one-quarter of the yardage—216 net offensive yards—gained by Phillip Rivers' offense.

Player	Penalties	Yards	Call
Brandon Browner	2	30	Unnecessary Roughness, Facemask
Brian Tyms	1	15	Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Kyle Arrington	1	10	Tripping
Malcolm Butler	1	10	Holding

With as many "get out of jail free" cards as New England was passing out, it was still able to stifle the Chargers offense with regularity.

Darrelle Revis and company held Keenan Allen to just two catches for three yards. Mike Loyko from NEPatriotsDraft summed up his night appropriately:

"

Keenan Allen had the invisibility cheat activated tonight. #Patriots

— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) December 8, 2014"

Physical hits from Tavon Wilson, Sealver Siliga and Alan Branch stopped running backs and receivers in their tracks. Wilson's crushing blow on tight end Antonio Gates stopped the legend's progress inches short of the line to gain on fourth down and ultimately ended San Diego's bid for its ninth win of the season.

All this was done with two of the Patriots' best players—former first-round picks Dont'a Hightower and Chandler Jones—in sweatsuits due to injuries.

Three recent acquisitions filled in admirably, proving once again that Bill Belichick as a general manager is as underrated as they come.

2013 draft pick Jamie Collins took over the communication duties on defense and found time to record nine tackles and two sacks.

Akeem Ayers and Jonathan Casillas—brought in for peanuts during the season—each made plays in coverage. Ayers' interception of Rivers helped swing the momentum back to New England after having Devin McCourty's interception return for a touchdown called back for Brandon Browner's penalty.

After making it through the "gauntlet" section of its schedule at 5-1—including wins over Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and San Diego—New England ends the regular season with three straight divisional games.

Winning all three would assure the Patriots of the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Resting Hightower and Jones may be tempting, but clinching home-field advantage is key. Peyton Manning struggles in Foxboro and no other AFC quarterback will enjoy the cold conditions afforded by Gillette Stadium.

Expect the dynamic defensive duo to see the field as soon as it is ready. If Hightower and Jones aren't ready, however, expect their backups to hold down the fort for another couple of weeks.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.