FOXBORO, Mass. — For the first three-quarters of his debut season in New England, Matthew Judon was the Patriots’ best defender and one of the NFL’s most disruptive pass rushers.
Then, around mid-December, he vanished.
After recording a franchise-record-tying 12 1/2 sacks over the Patriots’ first 13 games, Judon was held to no sacks, one quarterback hit and one tackle for loss over the final five weeks as a mix of injuries, fatigue and increased defensive attention took their toll. With the 2021 Patriots lacking secondary pass-rushing depth behind Judon and Christian Barmore, their defense cratered, and they dropped four of their final five games, including a first-round playoff rout in Buffalo.
Six games into the 2022 campaign, Judon is off to another Pro Bowl-caliber start. He enters Monday’s primetime matchup with the Chicago Bears tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks (six) and tied for sixth in QB hits (12). And the Patriots seem to be taking steps to prevent another late-season swoon.
Judon has been on the field for 74% of New England’s defensive snaps thus far. That’s about a 7% decrease from his season-long snap rate in 2021 and a 9% dip from the workload he saw through the first six games of last season. The Patriots also have removed special teams duties from his plate. At this time last season, he’d played 46 snaps in the kicking game. This year? Just eight, and none since Week 2.
Earlier this month, the 30-year-old said staying healthy and well-conditioned were the keys to him maintaining his top-tier production over a full season. But he downplayed his lighter load when asked about it last week, saying it’s simply a product of his teammates’ strong performance.
“I didn’t even know this, man,” Judon said. “I honestly think it’s just more that other guys are playing well. If you look at Josh Uche before he (missed last week’s game due to injury), and if you look at (Anfernee Jennings) — he wasn’t even here last year with us. And (Deatrich) Wise. I think it’s just those guys playing well. We’re just able to rotate and keep everybody fresh. So it’s not that I’m playing less; they’re just playing more because they’re playing well, and they deserve to be out there. When they make plays, I make plays, too, and our defense makes plays. I’m an extension of them, and they’re an extension of me.”
