EAGAN, Minnesota - The Patriots defense made its presence felt in Minnesota on Wednesday during the first of two joint practices with the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy and his offense made their fair share of plays over the course of the two-hour session, but the Pats flashed a nice combination of consistent pressure and quality coverage throughout the competitive team periods.
On the very first 11-on-11 period, Milton Williams recorded a would-be sack, setting the tone for a disruptive day up front. From there, the pressure kept coming, with K'Lavon Chaisson blowing up a toss sweep in the backfield and linebacker Christian Ellis knifing through for a run stop on the next series.
Harold Landry, who stood out in last week's joint practices against Washington, continued his strong summer by tapping off quarterback J.J. McCarthy for a sack before Ellis and Chaisson combined for another would-be sack on the very next play. Robert Spillane was everywhere in the middle of the defense, flying to the ball and standing out with a pass breakup that ended one of the 11-on-11 periods.
After practice, Spillane praised the group's energy and focus. "It's another day at work," Spillane said. "Great opportunity for us to come out here, learn everything we've been learning through camp, and just go put it on display. I'm really proud of our defense, in particular, how we came out here with energy, flying around, getting to the ball, communicating. All the things that we pride ourselves on, we got done today. We got better."
Spillane emphasized that joint practices are about growth, not scorekeeping. "I struggle to say you win or lose practice," he said. "It's all about how you respond the next day to it. One might say you had your worst practice of all time, but if you come back and learn from it and get better from it, it ends up being your best practice. We just need to continue to stack days and get better as this year progresses."
Chaisson echoed that sentiment, highlighting the defensive front's coordination. "We made some steps today for sure," Chaisson said. "We made sure that we were a coordinated rushing front when we were on the field and we had some pressures. We made sure we communicated on the defense, and it showed for sure."
Cornerback Carlton Davis, who continued to work his way back to being a full-time participant, said his focus was on playing physical and maintaining the standard. "Just be physical for real," Davis said. "Just go out there and be physical, play our brand of football, and just keep the standard."
Even without Christian Barmore, who didn't take part in team periods, and Christian Gonzalez, who remains sidelined with an injury, the Patriots defense looked fast and physical.
Jabrill Peppers delivered the play of the day with a diving breakup on a deep shot to Jordan Addison, then followed it up with a thumping run stop. Minnesota's biggest answers came from tight end T.J. Hockenson, who caught three passes in 11-on-11 work, and running back Aaron Jones, who ripped off a big gain on a screen, the perfect play call against a Patriots blitz. Addison was a handful but the Patriots defense kept him from any major downfield damage.
The final competitive period simulated a two-minute drill with the Vikings trailing by three. After two completions and a false start, the Patriots forced back-to-back incompletions with tight coverage. McCarthy scrambled for 10 yards on third-and-15, setting up a fourth-and-five. New England sent a heavy blitz, but McCarthy barely got the ball out to Addison for a first down. That was as far as Minnesota would get, settling for a field goal that would have tied the game.
It wasn't a perfect finish, but it capped a strong day for a defense that continues to build momentum. Thursday's second joint practice will give the Patriots another chance to close out those competitive periods and keep stacking wins on defense.
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