Patriots defense racked up the sacks vs. Colts, on record pace for 2022 season

FOXBORO -- The New England defense got after it during Sunday's win over the Colts. That "it" would be Indy quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

The Patriots' defense racked up a season-high nine sacks during the 26-3 victory, which tied the most sacks for the team under Bill Belichick. Ehlinger was being chased by a bevy of New England defenders throughout the contest, with Matthew Judon and Josh Uche each tallying a trio of sacks. Ja'Whaun Bentley and Raekwon McMillan each had a sack, while Jahlani Tavai and Deatrich Wise Jr. both were credited with a half-sack.

After the game, Bill Belichick credited the entire defense for generating loads of pressure throughout the game.

"It was just good team defense. Any time you have a good pass rush, you have good coverage. Any time you have good coverage, you'll have a good pass rush. Some of those sacks looked like coverage sacks, where there was nobody to throw to. Some of them were great rush sacks where they didn't have time to execute the passing game. But good team defense is really what it's about," he said. 

Nine sacks in a game is pretty impressive, but this is nothing new for the Patriots' defense this season. Through nine weeks, the New England defense has 32 sacks -- one off Dallas' NFL-best 33 sacks -- and is on pace to record 60 sacks this season. That would set a new franchise record for most in a season, besting the 58 sacks that the Patriots' defense racked up in 1977.

As for Sunday's win, Judon set the tone right from the jump. He sacked Ehlinger on Indianapolis' first offensive snap, injecting some life in the team and the stadium after the offense went three-and-out. It was clear from the get-go that Judon would be sending Ehlinger to the ground and have his hands in the air for most of Sunday's game.

He had another sack just two snaps later, but it was taken off the board thanks to a penalty by Daniel Ekuale. Judon didn't have to wait long for his second sack of the day, getting to Ehlinger on third down on Indy's next possession to force a three-and-out. He had another third-down sack in the third quarter to up his season total to 11.5 sacks for the season. 

He agreed that the New England secondary had a huge hand in most of the team's sacks on Sunday.

"I believe that the secondary covered their butts off today. It was a lot of coverage sacks," said Judon, who also had a big stop on an Indy fourth-and-1. "My sack probably was a coverage sack. We, as a defensive line, always go talk to them and they come talk to us. We just have to continue to feed off that energy and each other. No matter down and distance, where we go out there on the field, the situation we're put in, it's our job to get the ball back. It's our job to stop the opposing offense. When we do that, we just roll, we just roll. We've seen it in a couple other games and today we had it."

Judon is now just the fourth Patriots player with back-to-back seasons with double digit sack totals. He's one off his career-high 12.5 sacks, which he set in his first season with the Pats last year.

He'll likely match -- and pass -- that career mark when the Patriots return to action in Week 11 against the Jets.

Watching Judon rack up a multi-sack game is nothing new. Watching Uche do so is very, very new, considering he had just three sacks all of last season. Now in his third year, Uche had gotten to the quarterback multiple times in a game only once prior to Sunday. All three of his sacks on against Indy came on third down plays.

"I'm just being me. You know I always have faith in myself and even when nobody else believes in me, I kind of always knew what I was capable of," said Uche. "My dad has been a big help for me as well, just keeping that confidence as well so it's been great."

The Patriots' defense was a giant ball of energy on Sunday, feeding off Judon's lead. When he flies around the field and sends a QB to the grass, that energy gets another zap. 

"I mean we definitely feed off each other's energy and when you have a guy like Judon, everyone's just getting in on the fun and we just feed off of it you know," said Uche. "Because now there's blood in the water so now you know, it's time to hunt."

The defense gave up next to nothing on Sunday, holding the Colts to just 121 total yards. Indy was 0-for-14 on third down.

While the offense is scuffling to score points, the New England defense continues to make plays each and every week. That side of the football will have to continue to lead the way, and the defense looks very much up to the challenge.