FOXBORO -- The Patriots defense ended up being a nightmare for Philip Rivers and the Chargers in the Divisional Round, but it's been that way for opposing offenses going on the last two months or so.
Outside of their loss in Miami, if you go back to Week 12, the Patriots have allowed more than 20 points just once: the Divisional Round, which was all but over by halftime. In that time, the Patriots have shown a variety of coverages and they've deployed an array of pressures and blitzes to rattle quarterbacks.
It's an advanced group. They have one of the most experienced secondaries in the league. They have veterans on the defensive line who can play a multitude of roles. And at the center of it all they have a player who understands every concept, every position, every tendency an opponent has shown going into a given matchup.
And he's been available to the Patriots all season, which he'll tell you is a welcome change from years past.
"That means a lot," Dont'a Hightower said Tuesday. "My time on the field hasn’t always been as much as I wanted it to be, but this year it’s meant a lot to me. I’ve been out there, I’ve been able to play, I’ve been able to be with my teammates from OTAs to minicamp, so I’ve enjoyed it. Looking forward to keeping this thing going, so just whatever I can this week to keep that thing going."
Hightower is the primary communicator for the Patriots defense, donning the green dot from week to week and relaying defensive play-caller Brian Flores' signals to his teammates up front and in the secondary. But once the coach-to-player communication system shuts off with 15 seconds remaining in the play clock, Hightower has the ability to change a call or provide an alert based on what the offense might be doing.
Against the Chargers last week, he was an effective blitzer and edge-rusher, taking advantage of the obvious passing situations the Chargers had put themselves in by falling behind so significantly. But he's been deployed in coverage -- he picked off this week's opponent, Patrick Mahomes, back in Week 6 when he feigned a rush and aborted to fall into a shallow zone -- and he's a heavy hitter against the run.
New England Patriots
Hightower missed one game this season, a Week 8 win in Buffalo, but has otherwise been healthy enough to play his various roles from game to game. His 15 starts are the most of his career, and the 15 games he played in the regular season are the most he's played since his second year, coming just a season after he suffered a pec injury that put him on IR, thrusting Kyle Van Noy into a more prominent role.
It's now back to being Hightower's defense in the do-or-die portion of the calendar.
Having him as a dependable presence and a significant part of the game plan on a weekly basis, the Patriots have been able to do more. They can continue to get creative with their fronts and coverages because Flores and Belichick know that he'll be able to cover for them -- either by communicating with others or by having a feel for what the team needs based on where it's vulnerable -- if they run into any issues.
"No question," Belichick said Wednesday. "Dont'a had a real good year for us. His personal versatility is good because of the number of things we face defensively that we have to adjust to. It allows us to do other things defensively. He's a very good communicator at all levels. Whether he's an inside linebacker, outside linebacker if you will, part of the defensive line, pass-rush, he's very good in all those areas.
"He's able to communicate, identify, get us into the right call or stop what we're supposed to be in. And he's a very instinctive player. He just kind of knows what to do. Where to fit in rushes. How to compensate on coverages on play-action. Things like that. He's a versatile player. Certainly having him out there on a lot of downs -- on all three downs, including fourth down, really; in some games he's contributed for us there -- but all three downs, running game, passing game, pass-rush, pass-coverage, on the line, off the line. He's done a lot of things."
The Patriots will lean on Hightower again Sunday to be prepared for whatever Mahomes and the Chiefs throw their way. They sure did back in Week 6, coming up with a diverse attack to confuse Mahomes in the first half and limiting Kansas City to just nine first-half points. We'll have a more detailed post later this week on what exactly the Patriots did to Mahomes in those 30 minutes and how Hightower factored in.
Safe to say the Patriots will be happy to have him at their disposal for another week.
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