New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots are looking to bounce back in Week 4 after suffering a brutal 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend. Ahead of the game, though, fans were ticked off thanks to a blatantly inaccurate statement from analyst Colin Cowherd.
Through three games, there have been some pretty notable issues for the Patriots, which is to be expected for a young, inexperienced team playing under a new head coach. Those issues involve turnovers, penalties and an inability to limit big plays on defense.
One area that has managed to perform for New England is its pass rush. Through three games, the Pats have nine sacks, even though they failed to get to Aaron Rodgers at all in Week 3. That number has the Patriots tied for the No. 6 spot in the league when it comes to team sack totals.
Cowherd, however, doesn’t seem to believe that New England’s pass rush is good. In fact, he believes it’s actually one of the main reasons they have lost two of their first three games to begin the 2025 campaign.
“The problem for them is that they don’t have a pass rush,” Cowherd incorrectly said about the Patriots on “The Herd.”
While the Pats didn’t sack Rodgers in Week 3, their front seven on defense limited the Steelers’ offense by consistently applying pressure on him. In fact, you can make a case that this unit was the main reason New England hung around in this game for as long as it did.
A quick look at the numbers would have let Cowherd know that his take was off base. After failing to drop Rodgers last weekend, the Patriots’ defensive line will look to become very familiar with Bryce Young when they take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
