That not only extended their winning streak to five games and moved them to 7-4 on the season, but, thanks to the Colts win over the Bills on Sunday, they are now in first place in the AFC East and the No.
Before we fully dive into that head-to-head, however, let’s take a look back at that dominating win over the Falcons and take stock of where a handful of Patriots are trending at this point in the season.
They dominated the Falcons offense from the jump and then put together a turnover tsunami by recording four-straight interceptions to end the game.
He was at the center of a number of big plays as he finished his day with a team-high eight tackles, two sacks, and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.
After missing Week 10 due to a concussion, Harris was able to return to action against Atlanta and rush 10 times for 56 yards.
On a more positive note for Andrews, he turned in a clean sheet in pass blocking situations on Thursday, so he’s still a key anchor for the New England club and will likely bounce back in short order.
While he didn’t come away with any sacks himself, he was clearing the way for others to get to the quarterback.
Last week, he had the interception off Baker Mayfield to spark New England’s blowout win and on Thursday had a key PBU against Kyle Pitts on a third-and-9 throw from Matt Ryan on Atlanta’s opening drive.
It may have gotten lost in the shuffle in the midst of the dominating play by New England’s defense, but Nelson Agholor put together his most efficient game of the season on Thursday.
Given that he succeeded while getting targeted in a shorter area of the field, it’ll be worth watching to see if the Patriots begin to use him in different ways over the next few weeks.