The New England Patriots' defense was one of the league's best through the team's Week 14 bye. From there, it was all downhill.
The Patriots dropped three of their last four regular-season games and finished their campaign with a 47-17 wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills. Outside linebacker Matt Judon, who tallied 12.5 sacks before the Week 14 bye and zero after it, shared his take Wednesday on what went wrong with the defense.
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Judon believes the defense's demise was a result of players trying to do too much rather than sticking with the scheme.
"We kind of just played some good teams and we wasn't playing our best ball," Judon said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Felger & Mazz". "You can't do that at the end of the season. There's really no excuses. I wish I can be like, 'Well, this person got hurt,' but it wasn't that.
"I think after like two games, then everybody tried to start making a play. Like, ‘I’m going to be the player that do this. I’m going to be the player that do that,’ instead of just playing within the defensive scheme and stuff like that. And I kind of think that’s kind of what happened.”
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As for his own struggles, Judon says they had nothing to do with injury. Rather, opposing teams adjusted by chipping him with tight ends and running backs.
"No, I'm fully healthy," Judon said. “I’m football injured, but nothing that I need surgery on. Nothing that I’ve got to hold back on. It’s just a long season, so you have nicks and nags here. But I don’t have any injury.
"I don’t have no excuses for nothing. If I’m out there, I’m supposed to make plays. That’s what I’m paid to do. That’s who I am. I should have made more plays coming down the stretch. So I have to get back in the lab. I’ve got to be more in shape because knowing that, all right, I’m going to get chipped, I’m going to have an extra guy I’ve got to get around — any of that. I’ve just got to be ready.”
You can watch Judon's full "Felger & Mazz" interview below: