Patriots Defense Failed First Real Test of Season Against Lamar Jackson, Ravens

The Patriots' undefeated streak ends in Week 9 by the hands and feet of Lamar Jackson.

The New England Patriots' defense may not be as elite as previously thought before they took the field in Week 9. 

The Patriots' 37-20 loss on the road to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football featured a Lamar Jackson-led offense that had 213 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Tack on an additional 163 passing yards and another score, and Baltimore showed the rest of the NFL how to defeat a previously historic defense that resided in New England. 

After coming out of the gates fast by scoring 17 unanswered points in the first quarter, New England was able to quite a red-hot Ravens offense and keep it to a close 17-13 score at the half. But lo and behold, Baltimore's rushing attack came to life again in the second half thanks to two scoring drives that both took 8-plus minutes of time off the clock. 

Jackson, who had 224 total yards and three total touchdowns vs. New England (163 passing yards, one TD, 61 rushing yards two rushing TDs) and didn't commit a turnover against a Patriots defense that leads the league in turnovers, became the 2nd player ever to score a rushing and passing touchdown against Bill Belichick and the Patriots, per NFL Research. Heading into the Sunday night game, New England was 24-0 over their last 24 games against opposing QBs under the age of 25. Jackson put that streak to rest with his MVP-like performance at 22 years of age. 

Lamar Jackson is just special. Probably the most overall talented player to play QB in the league.pic.twitter.com/B3A3scXDs7

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 4, 2019

"We knew that they have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL this year, and they were able to run the ball," safety and captain Devin McCourty said during his postgame press conference. "I think because we struggle stopping the run it pretty much gave them control of the game."

Heading into their bye week, the Patriots now have two weeks to figure out how to patch this gaping hole on their defense. Week 9 marked the third week of the regular season that New England gave up a 100+ yards on the ground to a single player on an opposing team. They did such in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills (Frank Gore - 109 yards), in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns (Nick Chubb - 131 yards), and Sunday night when they gave up 115 rushing yards to Ravens' Mark Ingram. 

Their road ahead won't be any easier either. 

In Weeks 12 and 13 they face the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, both of which are Top-5 in the league in rushing yards per game. They also face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14, a team that can run the ball effectively but haven't needed to run the ball heavily because of strong QB play, and a 12th ranked rushing attack in Philadelphia in Week 11 led by Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders of the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Though their hopes of being a historically great defense may have been hampered by their poor performance Sunday night, the Patriots defense still has plenty of juice left to beat up on opposing offenses and at the very least be the No. 1 defense in the NFL in 2019.  But in order to do that they need to find a way to clog up the running lanes and force opposing teams to throw the ball against their elite secondary. Because if they can't, there may be some more losses headed their way before the playoffs begin.