Bill Belichick credits Patriots defense with ‘obviously huge plays’ against Saints
The Patriots’ defense produced as many touchdowns as the Patriots’ offense in a 34-22 preseason win over the Saints on Thursday.
In the first quarter, linebacker Jamie Collins returned an interception thrown by Garrett Grayson for a score. Defensive end Trey Flowers strip-sacked Luke McCown, recovered it, and ran it in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Running backs Tyler Gaffney and LeGarrette Blount scored the Patriots’ offensive touchdowns.
Overall, the Patriots’ defense finished a plus-4 turnover differential thanks to interceptions by Collins and cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc; the strip-sack by Flowers; and a forced fumble by defensive end Jabaal Sheard.
“Anytime we don’t turn the ball over that’s a good thing,” Bill Belichick said Thursday in a postgame press conference. “Defensively, we got the turnovers. We got the two touchdowns so that’s kind of 14 bonus points. It’s hard to count on that in a game. In the end, that really ended up being the difference in the final score. It was a great job by the defense to not only turn the ball over, but converting it into two touchdowns. So those were obviously huge plays for us.”
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Belichick said there were moments when the Patriots gave the Saints’ defense opportunities to generate turnovers.
“We need to keep the ball out of their hands,” he said.
Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said he made “a bad decision” during the second quarter in the red zone. Garoppolo scrambled after the Saints’ defensive line generated pressure, and he tossed the ball into traffic toward wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. A Saints defensive player got his hands on the ball before it fell incomplete, and the drive ended with a field goal.
In the end, that play didn’t cost the Patriots a win. More than 50 players saw the field for the Patriots in a game where the teams combined for 139 plays. First-, second-, and third-stringers made an impact on the game.
“The Saints are a good team and they’re very competitive in all areas,” Belichick said. “I feel like we got a good look at a high level of competition, and got a good evaluation of some of the things that we’re kind of doing OK, not great, and some other things that we definitely need to shore up.“
Trey Flowers with the strip sack, recovery, and TD run! WOW! https://t.co/ePc62e1ZCM
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) August 12, 2016
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