Patriots Take 2: Chandler Jones Dominates in First Game Back from Hip Injury

It wasn’t pretty, but the New England Patriots escaped with their 11th win of the season in Week 15 against the Miami Dolphins.

They have their defense to thank for keeping them afloat in the first half before the offense found its footing after coming out of the locker room for the second half.

The return of defensive end Chandler Jones helped spark the Patriots’ pass-rush, taking advantage of the Dolphins’ offensive tackles who have been moved and forced into the lineup due to injury. Jones was part of a defensive front that generated four sacks of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, along with a secondary that produced a pair of picks off Miami’s third-year passer.

The offense was booed off the field after taking a knee into the locker room, but they took it in stride on their way to a 24-point third quarter, the most points scored in a third quarter by the Patriots in team history.

How were they able to do it? Here’s a look at the film from the Patriots’ 41-13 win over the Dolphins.

Under Pressure:
Here is our weekly look at which defensive players created pressure, and which offensive players allowed pressure in the passing game.
Offense (35 total pass snaps):
Bryan Stork: 35 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
Ryan Wendell: 35 pass-block snaps; 1 hurry; 1 hit
Sebastian Vollmer: 35 pass-block snaps; 2 hurries
Nate Solder: 34 pass-block snaps; 2 hurries
Dan Connolly: 26 pass-block snaps; 3 hurries
Rob Gronkowski: 8 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
Shane Vereen: 5 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
Marcus Cannon: 4 pass-block snaps; 1 hurry
Michael Hoomanawanui: 4 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
LeGarrette Blount: 3 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
James Develin: 2 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
Jonas Gray: 2 pass-block snaps; 0 hurries
Tim Wright: 1 pass-block snap; 0 hurries
In total, Tom Brady was pressured 11 times (9 hurries, 2 hits). The offensive line did a great job of protecting for Brady as a whole, but particularly in the first half, where Brady was only pressured four times on 15 dropbacks.
There were four passes that were batted at the line of scrimmage: two by defensive tackle Jared Odrick, and one each by linebacker Jason Trusnik and defensive tackle Earl Mitchell.

Brady wanted to hit Brandon LaFell on a crossing pattern with 6:37 remaining in the first quarter, and thought he could get the pass over Trusnik’s head while he was occupied with guard Dan Connolly. But Trusnik hadn’t rushed fully upfield, and was waiting for Brady to pull the trigger so he could raise his arms to bat down the pass. He probably didn’t expect it to go straight up in the air, but he was ready for it when it came right back down to him.

It happened again with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter. Brady went to throw a pass through what was initially a big window between the left tackle and left guard, but defensive tackle Earl Mitchell quickly closed off the throwing lane. There really wasn’t a lot Brady could do here; from the start of his throw to its finish, there’s no way he could have known that Mitchell was coming across the field.
Defense (52 total pass snaps):
Chandler Jones: 40 pass-rush snaps; 4 hurries; 1.5 sacks
Rob Ninkovich: 40 pass-rush snaps; 2 hurries; 2 hits; 1 sack
Vince Wilfork: 28 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry
Dont’a Hightower: 22 pass-rush snaps; 1 hit; 0.5 sacks
Akeem Ayers: 18 pass-rush snaps; 2 hurries
Chris Jones: 18 pass-rush snaps; 0 hurries
Jamie Collins: 13 pass-rush snaps; 2 hurries; 1 hit
Sealver Siliga: 13 pass-rush snaps; 1 sack
Alan Branch: 4 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry
Tavon Wilson: 1 pass-rush snap; 0 hurries
Logan Ryan: 1 pass-rush snap; 0 hurries
In total, the Patriots defense generated pressure 18 times (10 hurries, 4 hits, 4 sacks).
Chandler Jones was the Patriots’ best pass-rusher on the day, but before we dive into his return, let’s look at some of the great linebacker pressures, including another returning defensive star, Dont’a Hightower.

Tannehill hit Mike Wallace for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds to go in the first half, but it very nearly didn’t happen thanks to Hightower on the linebacker pressure. Defensive end Rob Ninkovich was the only player to line up with his hand on the ground, while the rest of the Patriots’ defenders were in a two-point stance in an amoeba defense.
Hightower gave the illusion of an outside rush, but then quickly turned to the inside, getting a free rush up the middle. He put a hit on Tannehill that he won’t soon forget, but he arrived just a fraction of a second too late, and the pass was already in the air.

Jamie Collins created some pressure on Tannehill on the first play of the fourth quarter. He put a sick juke on Dolphins center Samson Satele, faking to the right and then cutting hard to the left. The sudden jerking back-and-forth shook Satele out of the way and allowed Collins to get the pressure. Tannehill escaped Collins, but in doing so, he ran right into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Sealver Siliga.
The pass-rushing abilities of Hightower and Collins have been crucial to the Patriots’ pressure packages this season, and if the Patriots’ defense is going to continue to be successful down the stretch, it will be up to that unit to finish what it has started.

Chandler Jones’ Return Sparks Patriots’ Pass-Rush
As noted above, Chandler Jones was the spark plug for the Patriots’ pressure packages, getting to the quarterback a total of six times on 40 pass-rush attempts. He was primarily used as an outside rusher in nickel packages, but also saw some time on the inside.

Jones wasted no time in getting pressure on the quarterback, harrying Tannehill from an inside alignment on only the fourth dropback of the game (11:22 remaining in the first quarter). He rushed against right guard Mike Pouncey, starting with a move to the left that forced Pouncey to retreat, followed by a hard cut the other way while turning his hips sideways (“getting skinny”) through the gap. He arrived at Tannehill a split-second too late, but it wouldn’t be the last time he’d have an opportunity to get after the quarterback.

The Patriots sent only a three-man rush after Tannehill on 1st-and-10 with 11:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Jones’ quickness off the line and sound hand technique allowed him to get around the edge in a flash. He batted away the hands of Dolphins rookie left tackle Ja’Wuan James, and continued his hard charge around the corner, blindsiding Tannehill and knocking the ball loose.
Jones showed a lot of burst in his first game back, which bodes well for a Patriots’ pass-rush that has been hit-and-miss in his absence.

What Happened On Miami Dolphins’ Long Passes?
The Dolphins hit three passes that traveled 20 yards or more on Sunday. That was quite surprising, since the Dolphins have not been very proficient in the vertical passing game this season, and the Patriots have been much better at defending the long pass this year than they have in recent years.
Of those three 20-plus-yard completions, two of them were against cornerback Malcolm Butler.

Let’s go back to the last play of the first half, when Tannehill hit Wallace for a 32-yard touchdown.
The Patriots safeties were in deep coverage, while the corners were playing man coverage underneath. Mike Wallace ran a fade route down the left sideline and never broke stride. Butler got turned around trying to keep Wallace in front of him. Safety Devin McCourty was in the middle of the field, and in no position to defend a pass that close to the sideline — especially not with Butler losing sight of the receiver.
The most important thing here is situational football, which McCourty alluded to after the game.
“I felt that was just bad situational football by us defensively, to give up that play at the half,” he said. “But other than that I thought we did a good job of getting off the field on third down [and] making them kick field goals in the red area. We’ve just got to do a better job of knowing, that with 11 seconds left, they’ve got to take a shot to the end zone.”
Despite the rush, Tannehill was able to get everything he needed to on the pass, hitting Wallace in stride for the touchdown.

On the Dolphins’ first offensive play of the game, Wallace was able to get a free release away from Butler’s coverage by juking him at the line of scrimmage. Just like he did on the touchdown, Wallace ran a fade route down the left sideline. McCourty was the only deep safety in coverage, but he was nearly able to get from the center field spot all the way to the sideline to break up the pass. It looked like he may have even let up a little bit, trying to avoid a pass interference penalty.
The Patriots have given up a bunch of yards, but from an efficiency and a big play standpoint, they have been one of the stingiest pass defenses in the NFL; they rank No. 7 in the NFL in defensive passer rating, and only seven pass plays of 40 yards or more all season.
If the Patriots can get back to preventing the long passes over their head, they should be okay come playoff time.

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