FOXBOROUGH – Josh Uche had the best game of his three-year NFL career on Sunday.
The outside linebacker recorded a career-high three sacks as part of a performance in which the Patriots recorded nine sacks, tying a franchise record post-merger.
Uche’s first sack of the game came when he sped rush right by Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann for an easy sack on a third down late in the first half. He added sack No. 2 when he sat in his spot on the edge, waiting for Ehlinger to roll to his left and met the quarterback near the sideline and pushed him out of bounds on a third down play. Uche got his third sack late in the third quarter when he waited for Ehlinger to step up into the pocket, meeting the quarterback as he was thinking about taking off for a scramble.
The performance from Uche on Sunday was one Patriots fans have hoped to see for a long time out of the 2020 second-round pick. Uche's been pinned as a breakout player over the last couple of seasons, but injuries complicated his 2021 season after he had three sacks in the first two games. He hadn't recorded a sack this season until Week 8 against the New York Jets, meaning Uche's got four sacks over the last two games.
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While things appear to be coming together for Uche, he knew he could always have performances like the one he had Sunday.
“I always knew what I was capable of, personally,” Uche told ClutchPoints. “I've always had confidence in myself. Talking to my dad each and every week, we kind of game-planning it a little. So, I'm not surprised. I know what I'm capable of. It's just all about building off it – never being satisfied and always being hungry.”
Uche said he's maintained confidence through everything that's happened over the last two seasons.
“I could have zero sacks and I still know what I can do,” Josh Uche said. “So, it don't really matter. It's just – y'all got to see it.”
As Uche knew deep down he could have a three-sack game, his Patriots teammates are just happy to see him performing well with the opportunities he's had recently.
“It was awesome. It was great,” Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise said. “He's battled so much to get on the field. He had a great game last week against the Jets, hurt himself again but came back out, had three sacks. That's awesome, awesome for him, awesome for his career.
“I definitely was over there like, ‘You have three sacks!’ He was like, ‘Do I?’ I was like, ‘Yes! You have three sacks.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ He was so shocked and then we confirmed it. I was happy for him. I'm very, very happy for him. I hope he continues to have this same stretch for the whole season.”
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Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon, who also had three sacks on Sunday to make him the league's sole leader in sacks with 11.5, revealed that Uche has a bit of a bigger role on the Patriots' defense than we realize – and that his talent is better than people think, too.
“Josh actually calls the plays out there when we’re on third down. So our execution is from him,” Judon said. “That’s hard for somebody that’s in Year 3, and hasn’t had that much success in the NFL, and it’s third and long and he has to make the right call, right? So for him to come out there, and have a game like he had and play lights out like that, that just allows him to see what he can do in this league.
“He can be a premiere pass rusher. I always tell him, he’s probably the best pass rusher we got. I’m very happy for him. That’s my brother. I’m going to continue to speak him up and boast him, but that’s all him. He works his butt off, just to get out on the field. When he’s out there and he has success like that, I’m just happy for him.”
As his teammates gas him up, Uche gave them credit as he thinks they all bring out the best in each other.
“We definitely feed off each other’s energy,” Josh Uche said. “When you have a guy like Judon, D-Wise, everyone is just getting in on the fun. We feed off that because now there’s blood in the water. Now, we know it’s time to hunt.”
The Patriots defensive line will see if it can continued to do that following their bye week when they face the New York Jets on Nov. 20.
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