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Loaded with trash talk and talent, the Patriots’ D-line might be the crew that wins Super Bowl LX
"Doesn't matter who it is, whoever on the field, just another day for the line to kick a--.”
SAN FRANCISCO — Both Milton Williams and Christian Barmore kept the receipts as they made their way off a snow-swept field in Denver on Jan. 25.
After feasting against porous offensive lines in their first two playoff bouts against the Chargers and Texans, the AFC championship game was expected to be a far tougher test for New England’s defense, at least when it came to generating pressure against Jarrett Stidham.
The Broncos entered that bout against New England’s defensive line with one of the top O-lines in the league, featuring a pair of All-Pro stalwarts in Garrett Bolles and Quinn Meinertz.
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Those labels meant little to Barmore and his teammates as they promptly caved in Denver at the line of scrimmage all afternoon.
“First-team All-Pro. Our coach tells us all the time that All-Pro don’t mean [expletive],” Barmore said after New England’s 10-7 victory. “It doesn’t matter. Our coaches tell us every time that they’re All-Pros, so they’re the targets. That’s the mission. He’s a helluva player, but this is for us. This is our team.”
Williams was a bit more succinct in his musings after sacking Stidham three times and limiting Denver to 3.3 yards per carry.
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“No. 1 offensive line can kiss my [expletive],” Williams said while heading into the locker room, per MassLive’s Mark Daniels.
The Patriots have had several voices in their room who have set the tone for a miraculous turnaround campaign.
There’s the steadying presence and swagger that Mike Vrabel presents at the podium.
As potent as his playmaking prowess is, Drake Maye tends to spend his press conferences doling out praise to his teammates.
But, on a Patriots D-line loaded with talent and a sizable chip on its collective shoulder, any media scrum tends to pivot into a WWE promo.
“We come in hungry, man, “Barmore said. “ We like lions, we come to hunt. … It’s just like our goal is to dominate every time we out there. Doesn’t matter who it is, whoever on the field, just another day for the line to kick a–.”
“We just don’t care who you got, what you running,” Williams added on Monday.
The Patriots’ D-line’s braggadocious comments are backed up by the wake of destruction they’ve left during this run to Super Bowl LX.
It’s a group that is operating with no shortage of motivation to prove doubters wrong, even while New England’s defense has allowed an average of just 8.7 points per game this postseason.
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For Williams, that motivation is rooted in a defensive line littered with players who had been cast aside at previous spots.
“We got a lot of guys that we kind of thrown to the side,” Williams said. “‘He ain’t good enough. We’re going another direction.’ We got a lot of guys like that on our team, who don’t care. So we’re going out there trying to play for each other and dominate when we get a chance.”
The Patriots awarded Williams the highest-paid contract in franchise history, fresh off a Super Bowl LIX appearance where he shredded Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs O-line (two sacks, one forced fumble, fumble recovery).
But Williams — who wasn’t heavily recruited before committing to Louisiana Tech — still believes he has something to prove. Some detractors questioned whether Williams could thrive as the top dog on a D-line after serving as more of a rotational piece on a stacked Eagles defense.
He’s removed all doubt this year.
In the postseason, Williams is third in the NFL with 17 total pressures generated. When Williams is in the lineup, the Patriots defense is allowing just 3.05 yards per carry on inside runs — the best rate of the last five years.
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Christian Barmore — finally healthy after dealing with a life-threatening blood clot condition last year — has a sack, seven tackles, and two QB while dialing up plenty of pressure up the middle.
“If I’ve got to do the dirty work and be the guy that helped my team win, it’s amazing,” Barmore said, adding: “I feel like I give a lot of energy to defense, and I love it because I always come in talking [expletive] and always talking smack. … I feel like whatever they tell me to do, I’m gonna do it because I’m a dog, man.”
Khyiris Tonga — another journeyman who inked a one-year contract with New England last offseason — is a run-stuffing force at the line of scrimmage.
Cory Durden — who opened the year by being cut by the Giants before landing on New England’s practice squad — has 13 pressures so far this postseason.
“I feel like everybody in our room feels like they want to be the best,” Durden said. “I feel like I’m the best player in the world when I play. I know everybody around us has got that same mentality. I feel like we’re the best defensive tackle room in the NFL.”
Another dominant performance on Sunday will be needed if New England wants to hoist another Lombardi Trophy.
Sam Darnold more than held his own against the Rams’ pass rush in the NFC championship game, completing 5-of-11 passes for 102 yards and three touchdowns in that win over Los Angeles.
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But, the Seahawks QB has largely labored this season when put under duress.
Prior to the postseason, Darnold ranked just 28th among qualified passers in EPA/dropback under pressure during regular season action, throwing for six touchdowns and six picks, and sporting a sub 70.0 passer rating.
If New England’s D-line can get in Darnold’s face and force him into some ill-advised throws, the Patriots should put themselves to leave the Bay Area with football’s greatest prize.
“Don’t care what kind of quarterback you are or how talented you are. You get pressure right in your face? It’s really not too much you can do,” Williams said. “We’ve seen it with the greatest. Tom Brady. What we did to Patrick Mahomes last year.
“Like I said, it really don’t matter the talent of the quarterback. We’ve seen some special players. You get interior pressure up the middle? It can throw a wrench in everything that they’re trying to do.”
The Patriots’ D-line has no shortage of confidence going into Sunday’s matchup.
That grouping has heard all of the noise about their lighter matchups so far during this playoff run.
The best way to quiet the doubters?
“If we win. If we win, they ain’t gonna have no choice,” Williams said.
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