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FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick was in a good mood on Sunday.
Belichick's Patriots squad put up an impressive performance across the board against the Lions, winning 29-0 to improve to 2-3 on the season after two straight losses. Following the win, he shared his appreciation for a lot people on his squad, starting with the coaching staff.
“I thought they did a great job this week all the way across the board,” Belichick said. “The team was well prepared. I thought we did a good job. They did a good job all week with the kind of change in the practice schedule and just having the team ready to go today. Give those guys a lot of credit.”
Then, it was on to the defense, which gave didn't allow a single point to the team that entered Week 5 as the highest-scoring in the league (35 points per game) and didn't convert a single first down on six fourth-down attempts (an NFL record).
“Obviously, defensively [going against the] top scoring team in the league, top everything in the league, yards, points, red area, you name it – to go out there and keep those guys off the board, whatever it was, five, six, fourth downs, and just a lot of good competitive defensive football,” Belichick said. “It was great. Really proud of that whole unit, the staff, the players, pass rush coverage, our tackling. Obviously, Hockenson, one of the top tight ends in the league, really focused on him. It was really a strong effort there.”
He also gave appreciation to the offense, which scored on six of its first eight drives before taking a victory kneel down on its ninth and final drive.
“Offensively, we moved the ball,” Belichick said. “Missed some opportunities in the red area, but in the end enough points to win. It was just a good solid effort. Rhamondre [Stevenson] was great with the ball. Our offensive line continues to be a strength.”
The Patriots offense had a new wrinkle to it this week, starting rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe for his first career start. The fourth-round pick did well, completing 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Zappe made his first career NFL start just a week after making his debut, in which he was trusted into the game early after Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion. Belichick thought Zappe did well with the whole week to prepare.
“He does a good job of seeing the game and can come off and identify and articulate what he saw, what happened that's usually right,” Bill Belichick said. “What he saw is usually what I saw or maybe when you look at the film, maybe there's something that's a little gray in there that his explanation is actually good. It was the way he saw it. Maybe he might not have done the right thing, but he saw the game.”
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Belichick also credited a few specific players on the Patriots' defense on how they contained tight end T.J. Hockenson, who is one of the league's top tight ends and only had one catch on Sunday.
“Coaches set a good game plan, and the guys that were on him, particularly Kyle [Dugger], but [Adrian Phillips] had him some, Devin [McCourty] had him some, Pep [Jabrill Peppers] had him some,” Belichick said. “The linebackers, Jahlani [Tavai], [Ja'Whaun] Bentley had a lot of awareness of him to just not make his routes easy, to try to reroute him, force him to go over or under the coverage, things like that. It's team defense. It's not just one guy. It's just good team defense.”
Finally, Belichick shared great appreciation for Rhamondre Stevenson. The running back rushed for a career-high 161 yards as he shouldered the burden after Damien Harris left the game early due to an injury, making Stevenson the Patriots' only running back on the active roster for much of Sunday's game.
Rhamondre Stevenson entered today leading the league in evaded tackles https://t.co/aa6l2FrB8V
— Underdog Fantasy (@UnderdogFantasy) October 9, 2022
“You have to give him a ton of credit,” Belichick said of Stevenson. “With Damien out, we only carried two backs for the game, and he put it all on his shoulders and finished with a couple of first downs there at the end of the game in the four-minute offense. Yeah, he is always good. He does a great job with the ball in his hands. He is a strong runner, but he can make people miss. He is a really good football player. Really a good football player. So glad we have him.Had a couple of blitz pickup plays right up the middle where he stepped up there.
“He is a good all-around back. Love him. Love him.”
"He's a good football player… He's a good all-around back. I love him."
Bill Belichick on Rhamondre Stevenson pic.twitter.com/wW5C70dHg3
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) October 9, 2022
Bill Belichick's Patriots squad looks to carry the momentum into Week 6 when they face the Browns as they try to get back to .500.
