BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Von Miller has an idea on how to beat the Patriots.
“When we play the Patriots, this is the game plan,”
“Sack Tom Brady.
“Thatap it.
“End of article.
“We good here?
“Nah, nah … there’s more to it than that, of course. But letap start there because when you play the Patriots, getting to Tom Brady is where everything starts.”
Miller would know.
In nine meetings with the Patriots in his career — playoffs included — he has defeated Brady and Co. twice and both were en route to the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win in 2015-16.
There of course was the snow game, when Brock Osweiler played in place of an injured Peyton Manning and running back C.J. Anderson ran in the game-winning score in overtime. Miller had one of the Broncos’ three sacks of Brady in that 30-24 win.
Then there was the AFC championship two months later, a game that was perhaps the finest showing by Denver’s historically elite defense that year. Miller had 2.5 sacks and . Miller also had on a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter.
“Tom doesn’t like to get hit. No quarterback does,” Miller wrote. “So you gotta get to him … a lot. You need two — not one, but two — legit pass rushing threats on the outside. Itap gotta be a two-sided rush because if itap just one guy, the offense can shift, slide, double-team, chip — they can take him out of the game. Some of my best games against the Patriots came when I had DeMarcus Ware on the other side, because the offense can’t account for both of us without keeping an extra guy in to help. And that takes away one of Tom’s options downfield. So it forces them to pick their poison.”
Miller went on to record 2.5 sacks of Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50, was named Super Bowl 50 MVP, earned the biggest contract awarded to a non-quarterback and now sits behind only Reggie White (0.85) for most sacks per game in NFL history (0.80).
But in his seven losses to New England, Miller fell victim to the same thing the Falcons did in Super Bowl LI and the Jaguars did in this year’s AFC Championship.
“When we played the Patriots back in 2013, we were up 24–0 at halftime. I remember going into the locker room thinking, ‘Thatap a wrap. There’s no way they’ll be able to come back,'” Miller wrote. “And then … boom. They beat us 34–31 in overtime. I learned my lesson that day.”
But in the years since, Miller and the Broncos have provided a loose blueprint for defeating the Patriots. Problem is, few teams, if any, can replicate the defense Denver owned in 2015. And no pair of edge rushers can replicate Miller and Ware.
“Getting to Tom Brady is like trying to beat King Koopa in the final stage on Super Mario Bros,” Miller wrote. “Sometimes it feels impossible … but it can happen.
“Mario can get it done.”
