The New England Patriots will have to stop the Denver Broncos rushing attack if they want to win on Sunday. It's a pretty simple goal, that will be extremely difficult to accomplish. Luckily (maybe?) for the Patriots, they've already seen the Broncos at their best.
When asked about Denver's continuously improving rushing attack, head coach Bill Belichick pointed to their week 12 match up and said "probably the best it was [was] against us." If New England, at their worst, can't handle the Broncos rushing attack, then the Patriots defense will have to play their best game all season.
"It was definitely a problem," Belichick said about stopping Denver's rushing game. "We just didn't play very well."
Belichick focused on stopping the run at practice all week, with padded practice.
"Pads are always good for the run game," Belichick noted. "For all the line of scrimmage work, blitz pickup, short yardage, goal-line, tempo, pad level."
The Patriots love to preach fundamentals and they will be on full display against the Broncos.