How Patriots Pass Rush Can Heat Up Josh Allen

The Patriots have been without their best pass rusher since Week 11, but statistically, they’ve barely missed a beat.  

Since losing Milton Williams to a high-ankle sprain early against the Jets, New England has seen virtually no drop-off in pass rush efficiency. In fact, according to PFF, their pressure rate has slightly increased since Week 11.

Some of their success can be attributed to Christian Barmore’s consistently disruptive presence. The usual nose tackle has spent more time at Williams’ usual defensive tackle spot, where he’s drawn fewer doubles. Barmore has notched three hurries in each of his past three games, and he trails only Moro Ojomo and Arik Armstead in total hurries this season.

Rookie Elijah Ponder has also flashed recently, recording two sacks in three weeks. The edge rusher spent some time inside against the Giants to counter Jaxson Dart’s athleticism.

As valiant as some individual efforts have been, Williams’ impact can’t be replaced by just one player, so New England has ramped up its use of second-level rushers and line games to help pick up some of the slack.

This manufactured pressure has led to crucial stops, and it could be crucial to slowing down Josh Allen this Sunday.

New England blitzed on just 20.0% of Allen’s dropbacks in Week 5 and stunted on 22.5%, both bottom-three rates for the defense this season. 

This strategy afforded Allen time and space to burn the back end, especially on man coverage or play-action snaps. But in round two, it sounds like the Patriots will be taking the fight to the Bills. 

“Well, you can keep him in the pocket. He’s just got to stand there and wait for somebody to uncover,” Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday. “Coordinated and relentless is probably the best way to phrase it. Because, again, you say, “Well, keep him in the pocket.” And then guys are just standing there, and they’re cautious, and we don’t want to coach that way.” 

With this more aggressive approach in mind, here are three ways the Patriots’ defense can use their scheme to affect Josh Allen. 

Stunts

Line games or “stunts” create confusion and unblocked pressure by having rushers exchange gaps post-snap. 

They’ve been a staple of New England’s penetrating front under Vrabel and interim defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, but they’ve seen a spike of over 10% spike since Week 11.

Stunts have contributed to most of New England’s pressures in recent weeks, with Barmore being a focal point as both a penetrator and looper. 

Facing third-and-two, Barmore lines up at Williams’ usual defensive tackle spot in a four-man front. The Jets slide their five-man protection toward nose tackle Cory Durden, leaving Barmore one-on-one with LG John Simpson.

New England calls a T-E twist with Barmore crashing outside to spring Ponder. Durden puts the pocket in Justin Fields’ lap, Barmore gets pressure while picking Olu Fashanu, and Ponder retraces for the sack.

The Patriots got solid pressure on stunts in Week 5, but shaky rush lane integrity and too many open gaps contributed to multiple conversions. This time around, keep the relentlessness and tighten up the coordination.

Mug Fronts

By dialing up more blitzes, the Patriots can minimize Allen’s escape lanes and create even more confusion on line games. 

In fact, their only Week 5 came courtesy of a twist between Barmore and Williams, with Jaylinn Hawkins setting contain off the edge.

That sack, like most of New England’s recent knockdowns, involved mug fronts with at least one off-ball defender head up over an interior linemen. By forcing blockers to respect blitz, defenses can influence protection schemes and create post-snap hesitation. 

Like stunts, mug fronts are nothing new for the Patriots’ defense, but they’ve been a regular part of recent third-down and rush packages. 

With the Giants in a pass look on second down, New England lines up in a wide defensive front with Ponder inside, Jack Gibbens over C John Michael Schmitz Jr., and Christian Elliss creeping toward the line.

The front calls twists on both sides with Barmore freeing Anfernee Jennings, Elliss freeing Ponder, and K’Lavon Chaisson forcing Dart into the loopers. Elliss collides with his target while drawing the back, and Gibbens’ late drop leaves the center’s head spinning, leading to a wide-open lane and another Ponder sack.

Calculated misdirection is one of the best ways to attack the Bills’ sturdy offensive line, but there’s one more tactic the Patriots have leaned on to speed up opposing quarterbacks. 

COVER 0

Cover 0 indicates zero deep help with coverage defenders in some form of man coverage, sometimes using zone principles like passing off assignments. It’s often thought of as an all-out blitz, but defenders often pop out of their rush based on the blocking scheme.

Cover 0 has been a hit-or-miss for the Patriots this season, as evidenced by the Giants’ 30-yard touchdown in Week 13.

 

That said, New England has been successful with the coverage when scheme and execution have aligned, including game-sealing stops in each of the last two games. 

Facing fourth-and-eight with the game on the line, the Patriots create a seven-man front before the snap to overload New York’s six-man protection. The defense lines up in a wide front similar to Ponder’s last sack, but with Gibbens and Elliss mugging late and Hawkins blitzing to prevent a Dart dash.

The Giants slide toward Elliss and assign the back to Gibbens, but Gibbens generates quick pressure, and Elliss pops out late before elevating for a game-sealing pass-breakup.

Blitzing Allen is far from a guaranteed win, as he’s more likely to fight off the first rusher than he is to go down. Swarming to the football and fighting off stiff-arms will be a major point of emphasis against the 6’5”, 237-pounder.

Final Thoughts

If the Patriots’ rush picks its spots wisely and doesn’t give Allen easy outs, the coverage should be able to suffocate Buffalo’s passing game.

Allen is always good for a handful of soul-crushing plays a week, but if Vrabel’s team has taught us anything, it’s that they can respond. Given the team’s last performance and the head coach’s undefeated record coming off a bye week, I expect the defense to bring its A-game and make another statement in its biggest game this season.