The New England Patriots have been one of the more impressive teams in the NFL this season. After Thursday night's drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons, the Patriots currently sit at 7-4, right there with the Buffalo Bills atop the AFC East.

Aside from rookie quarterback Mac Jones, one of the strengths of the team has been their defense. Well, Patriots corner J.C. Jackson doesn't want to brag but will gladly tell everyone about the current state of the New England defense.

J.C. Jackson is definitely not bragging here. However, Jackson is entitled to a little old-fashioned bravado after the beatdown of the Falcons on live television. Just look at what the Patriots defense did to the Falcons, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in the NFL in over 20 years.

The way the Patriots were playing last night, it seemed like the Falcons could have thrown prime Brett Favre out there and it wouldn't have mattered. And Jackson, who intercepted his sixth pass of the season last night- second in the NFL- has his fingerprints all over the defense.

It looks like another case of  Patriots head coach Bill Belichick outsmarting the rest of the league with Jackson, who replaced NFL All-Pro corner Stephon Gilmore when Gilmore still had plenty left in the tank. J.C. Jackson should continue to help the Patriots field one of the better defenses in the league.

And with swagger like Jackson's, it's no wonder Patriots fans are starting to get excited about this defense.