The New England Patriots defense didn’t exactly come out of the gate swinging this season - but lately, they’ve turned into one of the toughest units in the league. And as they prepare for a high-stakes Week 15 clash with the Buffalo Bills, the message from inside the locker room is clear: they’re not satisfied yet.
Veteran linebacker and team captain Robert Spillane, who turns 30 this Sunday, captured the mood perfectly.
“We’re still at this point late in the year - a few wins under our belt, but at the same time, hungrier than ever,” Spillane said Thursday at his locker inside Gillette Stadium. “You look across this locker room, it’s almost like a sense that we have so much left in the tank.
We have so much more to give. We can play such better defense.
We’re just striving to go out there and do that.”
That hunger will be put to the test against one of the most explosive offenses in football. The Bills are rolling again - no surprise there - and they’re doing it with a balanced attack that’s near the top of the league both through the air and on the ground. Through 14 weeks, they’re averaging 27.3 points per game (not counting defense or special teams), making them the fifth-highest scoring offense in the NFL.
At the center of it all is Josh Allen - the kind of quarterback who forces defenses to stay honest on every single snap. He may not be leading the MVP race this season, but make no mistake: Allen is still operating at an elite level.
“He’s the MVP for a reason,” Spillane said. “He can do it all.
He can extend plays, has the arm talent to get the ball anywhere over the field. He challenges your ability to plaster people late in downs.
He could be a primary runner on quarterback-designed runs. He could really do it all.”
That dual-threat ability - the cannon arm, the mobility, the ability to keep plays alive and punish defenses late in the down - makes Allen one of the most difficult quarterbacks to scheme against. The Patriots know that as well as anyone.
And if they’re going to slow him down, it won’t be with flashy tricks or last-minute adjustments. It’s going to come from the identity they’ve been building since the offseason.
That identity, forged in the spring during OTAs and reinforced week after week, has been all about discipline, fundamentals, and trust. It’s a mindset that started taking shape when Mike Vrabel came aboard and has continued to grow under leaders like Spillane.
“We’ve been working on that identity since Day 1 OTAs and it just continues to build,” Spillane said. “I’m proud of the guys that have really stayed the course and continue to believe in the basics, the fundamentals, doing what we do well.”
And what they do well - particularly in recent weeks - is play smart, physical, and fundamentally sound football. That’s what’s carried this defense from a shaky start to becoming one of the stingiest units in the league.
But with the AFC East still up for grabs and playoff positioning on the line, there’s no time to rest on what they’ve done. The focus is squarely on what comes next.
Sunday’s showdown in Buffalo isn’t just another game - it’s a measuring stick. And for a Patriots defense that believes its best football is still ahead, it’s the perfect opportunity to prove just how far they’ve come.