JARRETT BELL
NFL
Opinion: Patriots making playoff push with throwback defense-first approach
Jarrett Bell
USA TODAY
ATLANTA — Oh, that crafty Devin McCourty. When the business was complete, after the New England Patriots notched a fifth consecutive victory by smashing Matt Ryan & Co. with a 25-zip shutout, the veteran safety fessed up.
“I pulled a little okey-dokey,” McCourty said, alluding to his grumbling about playing on a short week. “I talked about not liking playing on Thursday. It was a headline everywhere. But we were really locked in all week to get a win.”
They did it with defense, with a Bill Belichick-built unit that hardly resembles the group that labored during a 2-4 start. And really, this is how they’ve had to do it while playing with a rookie quarterback.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.