Can Patriots Continue Playing Championship-Caliber Defense When It Matters Most?

No unit entered the 2014 season with more hype than the New England Patriots defense.

That unit was heralded as the second coming of the defense that led the Patriots to a dynasty from 2001-2004. Led by the acquisitions of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner in the secondary, the Patriots were supposed to deliver a heightened level of physicality.

It took a little bit, but we are finally beginning to see the potential of the Patriots defense. If the past two months are any indication, the rest of the NFL should be on notice.

Not only has the Patriots defense been playing at a high level, it's maintained that level of play against playoff-caliber opponents: The Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, and Miami Dolphins have all felt the wrath of New England's new-look defense.

There's a high likelihood that the Patriots will face at least one, maybe two and possibly three of those teams in January and February, depending on how far the Patriots make it in the postseason.

As usual, the Patriots appear to be aging like a fine wine over the course of the season. They keep getting better and better as the season wears on.

In the past four games, the Patriots have allowed a combined six points in the second half to go with only 505 yards of offense and a stunningly low 3.98 yards per play. Whether it's halftime adjustments or something in the water, the Patriots are coming out of the locker room looking like a new team.

"One key is, obviously, the second-half adjustments," said cornerback Kyle Arrington. "The coaches are doing a great job when it comes to second-half adjustments and trying to see what we've been hurt on and try to take that away and make teams find something else."

Over the years, the Patriots have done a great job of taking away an opponent's best strength.

This year, in particular, they seem to thrive on it. They pick out what they want to take away and force the opponent to beat them with everything else.

Opponent	Pts	3rd %	RZ TD %
Broncos	21	3/11 (27.3%)	3/4 (75%)
Colts	20	5/13 (38.5%)	2/3 (66.6%)
Lions	9	5/17 (29.4%)	0/1 (0%)
Packers	26	10/17 (58.8%)	0/4 (0%)
Chargers	14	4/13 (30.8%)	1/1 (100%)
Dolphins	13	3/16 (18.8%)	0/1 (0%)
Total	103	34/98 (34.7%)	6/14 (42.9%)

Broncos receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders both had a big game against the Patriots, but not tight end Julius Thomas.

Colts tight end Coby Fleener had a bunch of yards, but none of them meant much—especially without big performances from receivers Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson mustered only four receptions for 58 yards.

Packers receiver Jordy Nelson had his long touchdown catch at the end of the first half of that game, but it was one of only two receptions he had all day.

The Patriots' team statistics are not all the prettiest—they've allowed 248.7 passing yards per game, which is the 11th-most in the NFL at this time. With that said, they have only allowed 20 points per game, which is the eighth-fewest in the NFL.

That's a testament both to the Patriots' bend-don't-break defensive philosophy and also their willingness to give an opponent some leeway on options C and D, so long as they don't have an offensive explosion with options A and B.

And once they've seen what their opponent is doing, they become even more dangerous than before.

"As a football player, you have to be able to adjust on the fly," said defensive end Rob Ninkovich. "The better you are at doing that, the better off you're going to be on the football field. So, if that's seeing something one time and having to learn from it, you have to do that. As a football team, you want to be able to make corrections and learn as fast as possible."

Speaking of learning as fast as possible, another tenet of the Patriots defense is that it always seems to get better over time.

According to ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss, one belief is that the team adds layers to the defense during the course of the season—rather than forcing the players to learn the whole defensive playbook and its many changing components all at once, the Patriots coaches slowly build on the defense:

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick often tells his players to "do your job." As the players become more comfortable in the defense, it becomes much easier for them to focus on that job and know it inside and out.

In the first half of the past five years, they have allowed 188, 184, 170, 144, and 177 points. In the second half of the past four years, they have allowed 125, 158, 161, and 194 points—fewer points in the second half than the first half in all but one season (2013).

Thus far in the second half of the 2014 season, they have yielded only 103 points—on pace for fewer points once again.

It appears that the only thing holding the Patriots back is themselves. According to NFLPenalties.com, the Patriots are currently tied for second-most defensive penalties per game with 3.36, with the third-most defensive penalty yards per game at 31.9.

Penalties are not likely to prevent the Patriots from winning the Super Bowl—just ask the Seattle Seahawks, who were the most penalized team in the league last year on their way to hoisting the first Lombardi Trophy in team history.

But if the Patriots can tighten up their defensive penalties, as they have tightened up almost everything else on defense, they will be tough to get past in the postseason.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes are obtained firsthand. All penalty stats provided by NFLPenalties.com.

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