FOXBORO — Something needs to change for the Patriots’ defense before they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
Since defensive tackle Milton Williams injured his ankle in Week 11 against the Jets and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, the Patriots have deployed one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.
The Patriots’ defense ranks 30th in EPA (expected points added) per rush since Week 11 and 31st in rushing success rate.
It didn’t help that the Patriots were also playing without Robert Spillane, who was active in an emergency role but didn’t take the field, in their Week 15 loss to the Bills, when they allowed 168 yards on 37 rushing attempts to James Cook, Josh Allen and Ty Johnson.
The Patriots didn’t allow 50 yards to a single running back until Week 10. They’ve now allowed over 100 yards rushing in five straight games, and they’re set to face one of the league’s top running attacks on Sunday.
“We just gotta really focus on the technique of the guys that are out there,” interim defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr said Thursday. “Anybody that comes in — we would never put a guy out there and not have trust him to get the job done. I understand it’s different guys that are going out there from what it was previous. Starters, backups, however you want to say it, we all prepare like starters. But just really working on the technique and their job and make sure we’re not chasing plays.
“You don’t want to get like a game like this past Sunday. There’s a lot of excitement towards it, what was on the line. And sometimes guys want to make plays, and they get a little excited, and they might step out of their responsibility to try to make a play. We just got to do our job with good technique, good fundamentals.”
The Ravens rank third in rushing yards this season, first in yards per attempt and sixth in EPA per rush. They’re 12th in total rushing attempts and seventh in rushing touchdowns thanks to a three-headed attack of running backs Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Kuhr called Henry a “future hall of famer” with “good contact balance” who’s competitive on every run.
On Mitchell, Kuhr called the backup running back “a dangerous player in the run game and the pass game.”