Sports Final: Matthew Judon is putting together a "statement season" for Patriots' defense
FOXBORO -- Matthew Judon has been an absolute beast to start the season, and on Sunday, he made some Patriots history.
Judon tallied a pair of sacks in New England's 29-0 win over the Lions, a game that featured Judon making a mess of things for Detroit's high-powered offense. He stripped the ball from Jared Goff on one of those sacks, resulting in Kyle Dugger's 59-yard touchdown scamper to give the Patriots a 13-0 lead at the time.
Judon is now the first player to record a sack in each of New England's first five games in a season, surpassing Andre Tippett's previous record of four straight games to start the 1986 season.
With Judon rocking the red throwback Pat Patriot jersey on Sunday, it reminded ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss of watching Tippett make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks in the '80s.
"That is no disrespect to Tippett, who had 100 sacks in his career with the Patriots. I would never say that Matthew Judon is Andre Tippett," Reiss said on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV. "But it was fun to watch a guy on the edge beat a first-round tackle. [Lions left tackle] Penei Sewell is a good player, the seventh overall pick a few years go."
Judon started his Patriots career with a bang in 2021, logging 6.5 sacks over the first five weeks in his first season with the season. He finished the season with 12.5 sacks, but tailed off in the final month. He had no sacks or QB hits in the final three regular season games or in New England's playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
He looks like a man on a mission this time around, determined not to fall off a cliff again when the games matter most.
"This is almost a personal crusade for him," said WEEI's Christian Fauria. "The way he started and the way it ended [last season], there was a lot of criticism and he never explained what went on. I do think this is like a statement season for him. He is so disruptive and such a game-changer; every game he is always making plays."
Fauria sees Judon as a potential MVP candidate if he can keep up his pace this season.
Judon and the Patriots will look to keep it going next Sunday when they pay a visit to the 2-3 Cleveland Browns. Cleveland quarterback Jacoby Brissett has only been sacked five times so far this season, and was kept clean throughout the team's loss to the Chargers on Sunday.