Patriots Defense Achieves Historic Feat In Victory Over Browns

One proponent of the New England Patriots defense remained stout during their Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Wide receiver Malachi Corley delivered a 31-yard run on Cleveland’s opening drive, but the Patriots still stymied the Browns to 68 total rushing yards. Quinshon Judkins mustered just 19 rushing yards on nine carries after averaging 77.8 through his first six NFL games.

Following Sunday’s 32-13 victory, ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted that no running back has mustered 50 rushing yards against the Patriots this season. They became the first defense to deter any running back from reaching that tally through the season’s first eight games since 1950.

Judkins, who formed a potent backfield duo alongside TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State, didn’t break a single run over six yards on Sunday. The rookie collected a 46-yard gain and scored three touchdowns in a Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins.

New England ranks second with 76.0 rushing yards allowed per game, 0.3 yards behind the top-ranked Seattle Seahawks. That’s despite facing some dangerous rushers.

The Patriots bottled up first-round pick Ashton Jeanty to 38 rushing yards on 19 carries in his NFL debut. De’Von Achane now ranks eighth in rushing, but he mustered just 30 rushing yards in Week 2.

New England contained James Cook to 49 rushing yards in a massive victory over the Buffalo Bills, a lowly outcome for a star averaging 6.0 yards per carry with four 100-yard outings and 216 rushing yards in Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers. Alvin Kamara settled for 31 rushing yards the following week.

This streak will face a steep challenge when New England plays Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday.