Through the first four weeks of the season, the New England Patriots defense had allowed a league-worst 121 points. Tom Brady and the offense gave up seven points to the Houston Texans defense on a fumble return in week 3, but from a defensive scoring perspective, none were worse than the Patriots.
The next-worst defense was the Tennessee Titans defense that allowed 119 points. The Indianapolis Colts offense was responsible for a whopping 30 of their 136 points allowed (three interception return touchdowns, one fumble return touchdown, one safety).
So through four weeks of the NFL season, no defense allowed more points than the Patriots defense and New England ranked at the bottom of the league in most statistical measures.
My, how the times have changed.
Since week 5, no defense has been better at keeping points off the board than the New England Patriots. The Patriots as a team have given up 92 points over their past seven games, but 7 of those points are the result of an errant snap by back-up center Ted Karras. The defense was on the field for just 85 of those points, a mere 12.1 points allowed per game.
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense allowed 87 points over that span (they gave up an additional 7 points to a kick return against the Los Angeles Rams), while the Philadelphia Eagles defense allowed 92 points (they gave up an extra 7 points to a fumble return against the Denver Broncos). No other defense has given up double-digit points since week 5.
While the Patriots went from worst to first at keeping points off the board since week 5, their upcoming opponent is trending in the exact opposite direction.
Through the first four weeks, the Buffalo Bills defense allowed a mere 54 points, the best rate in the league. From week 5 onward, the Bills defense has allowed 192 points (the Bills offense gave up 14 to the Chargers) and their 27.4 points allowed per game is the worst in the NFL.
Hopefully both sides will continue to play at their current levels on Sunday and the Patriots can walk away with a quick and easy victory.