By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
Clearly the whole Patriots mantra of “Ignore The Noise” isn’t completely true. But if they use outside noise as fuel for a dominating performance on Sunday, then it’s all good in the end.
Sounds like that’s exactly what happened with Kyle Van Noy and the Patriots in a 16-10 win over the Bills on Sunday. Defense and special teams ruled the day, as J.C. Jackson made the difference on the scoreboard with a blocked punt that led to a Matthew Slater touchdown.
Offensively, the Bills could only muster three drives that netted over 50 yards. Quarterbacks Josh Allen and Matt Barkley combined for five interceptions. And Van Noy wreaked havoc all afternoon to make the defense happen, racking up eight tackles, two sacks, three QB hits, and two forced fumbles.
Van Noy admitted after the game (via NESN’s Doug Kyed) that he heard the outside noise from Bills tackle Dion Dawkins and looked to show him they’re pretty good, too.
“Just wanted to let Dawkins know who we are,” Van Noy said.
As a refresher, Dawkins provided some standard Bulletin Board Material™ when he said last week:” “We don’t care what they’ve done the games before because they haven’t played us yet. … We’re just on a different mission. We have something going. I don’t really care who it is.”
If Dawkins wants to hang his hat on something, the Bills offense did outscore the Patriots’ offense, which only scored nine points. But this is a different Patriots team. They’re proving that they can win on defense, and that all three phases matter.
“We’ve just got really good football players,” Van Noy said. “Maybe people will start noticing that.”
If they keep ruling the day as Tom Brady and the offense try to figure things out, more and more people should take notice. And perhaps future opponents will take notice of what happens when you talk too much during the week.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.