{"id":42112,"date":"2026-01-21T16:28:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42112"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:28:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:28:40","slug":"the-new-england-patriots-defense-has-been-the-biggest-surprise-of-the-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42112","title":{"rendered":"The New England Patriots Defense Has Been The Biggest Surprise Of The Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The New England Patriots are gearing up for an AFC Championship bout with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos suffered unfortunate news after an exhilarating overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills: their star quarterback, Bo Nix, suffered an ankle injury and has already been ruled out of Sunday\u2019s game. In his place, the Patriots will see a familiar face. Jarrett Stidham, who was drafted by New England back in 2019, is set to take over for Nix at quarterback. He\u2019s facing an uphill battle for many reasons, but the biggest reason is the Patriots\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n<h2>The New England Patriots Defense Has Been The Biggest Surprise Of The Playoffs<\/h2>\n<section><\/section>\n<figure id=\"attachment_263379\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263379\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/USATSI_28036425_168400545_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" alt=\"The New England Patriots Defense Has Been The Biggest Surprise Of The Playoffs\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-263379\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Patriots Defense Through The Playoffs<\/h3>\n<p>Coming into this postseason, several teams had been receiving recognition for their outstanding defenses throughout the regular season. The Houston Texans\u2019 defense was viewed as the best in the league, led by their dominant pass rush duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. The Denver Broncos have one of the best pass rushes of all time. They finished the year with 68 total sacks, 11 more than the second-place Houston Texans. One defense that has been outstanding through the first two rounds of the playoffs is the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots have only allowed one offensive touchdown in the two games they\u2019ve played thus far. They currently rank fifth in all-time postseason defenses in terms of points against. The four teams ahead of them are the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2000 New York Giants, and the 1977 Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Patriots defense is tracking for the record books. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KiJTarTzEo\">pic.twitter.com\/KiJTarTzEo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Boston Cream \ud83c\udf69 (@BostonCream) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BostonCream\/status\/2013723162320740612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Patriots\u2019 defense has totaled nine sacks and six turnovers in two games. One of those turnovers resulted in a touchdown, meaning they\u2019ve scored as many touchdowns as they\u2019ve allowed in two games. The run defense slipped from its dominant form from a few months ago, but the return of both Robert Spillane and Milton Williams has led to the run defense returning to form. It\u2019s not just the front seven that have been getting it done for the defense. The secondary has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. CJ Stroud and Justin Herbert combined for 39\/78 attempts, which equals a 50% completion percentage in the playoffs. I mentioned the six turnovers already; four of those have come from interceptions. All four of those interceptions have come from the Patriots\u2019 secondary.<\/p>\n<h3>Patriots Look Ahead To Denver<\/h3>\n<p>This has been an incredible showing for a defense that was not getting much attention heading into the playoffs. They\u2019ve played smart, physical, and opportunistic defense, which has allowed Drake Maye to have his struggles in his first two playoff games, and they still win. That defense has a chance to maintain this level of play this week. Jarrett Stidham has not thrown a pass in an NFL game in two years. On top of that, the Broncos may be missing some key weapons this weekend. J.K. Dobbins was designated to the injured reserve list and will be out for the AFC Championship game. Two of their top receivers, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, are both questionable for Sunday. Jarrett Stidham will have his hands full with this Patriots\u2019 defense, and despite being at home, the Broncos are currently 5.5-point underdogs per DraftKings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New England Patriots&#8217; defense has been the biggest surprise of the playoffs. They are on a historic pace through two games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The New England Patriots Defense Has Been The Biggest Surprise Of The Playoffs - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The New England Patriots Defense Has Been The Biggest Surprise Of The Playoffs - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New England Patriots&#039; defense has been the biggest surprise of the playoffs. 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