The Patriots defense dominated the Chicago Bears yesterday. Plain and simple. In a performance that rekindled memories of the early Super Bowl defenses, the Patriots racked up 9 sacks and held the Bears to just 142 yards of total offense in a 19-3 win.

“Defensively I would say we were able to get pressure.” said Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo. “We were able to get pressure on the quarterback. We had nine sacks in the game, which is always good, and I would say the back end did a good job as far as coverage is concerned.”

The front seven re-established the line of scrimmage all afternoon and was able to get to Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams on a consistent basis. The coverage on the back end was good as well and Mayo acknowledged that, but he said it started with the front seven. 

“It starts up front. I think that’s what we have to do. We have to go out there and reestablish the line of scrimmage and we were able to do that in all three-and-outs.”

We would be remised to not talked about the performance of the secondary. They shut down one of the most talented skill groups in the NFL. Chicago struggled to get D.J Moore, Cole Kmet, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze open. Mayo acknowledged that their effort in coverage added to the overall performance of the defense. 

“Coverage was huge ” said Mayo. “All of those guys in the back end, again, we had the young safeties out there, and (CB Christian Gonzalez) Gonzo continues to play at a very high level. I’d also say (CB) Jonathan Jones. He’s one of those guys you can put him in as a slot corner, put him outside, put him in the back end. Just a veteran player that, again, goes in that box of he’s a football player, and wherever you ask him to go, he’ll go out there and try to perform.”

It has been a long time coming for a defense that has struggled this season, specifically against the run. Factor in injuries to Christian Barmore, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Kyle Dugger and the suspension of Jabrill Pepper and the Patriots collectively have struggled to live up to their standard. Yesterday however was a return to the standard. The defense was dominate.

One person who appreciates the effort was rookie quarterback Drake Maye. He credited the defense for their dominant performance.

“Man, it’s a good feeling sitting over there as an offense, as a quarterback, watching that type of performance. I felt like all of the 11 were out there at a time, but I know 15, 20 played. Just credit to them, credit to them in practice this week. Just kind of a good taste of what it looked like for me in training camp. They get after you, mix up shell, mix up coverage, mix up blitz packages. It’s pretty cool to watch. It’s good to be on the other side of the ball. I’ve got to make some better decisions and keep those guys in great field position.”

It was a return to the good ole days when the Patriots defense could change the complexion of a game and give the offense the extra possessions they need to do their thing. Now the challenge is to build off of Sunday’s performance.

It will not be easy. The Rams come to town next week and Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles offense present some challenges but if the Patriots play to the level they did on Sunday, they will be up to the challenge. 

Regardless of what happens next week, it was nice to see the Patriots dominant an opponent again. Especially with the defense leading the way.