EAGAN, Minnesota – The Patriots defense made its presence felt in Minnesota on Wednesday during the first of two joint practices with the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy and his offense made their fair share of plays over the course of the two-hour session, but the Pats flashed a nice combination of consistent pressure and quality coverage throughout the competitive team periods.
On the very first 11-on-11 period, Milton Williams recorded a would-be sack, setting the tone for a disruptive day up front. From there, the pressure kept coming, with K’Lavon Chaisson blowing up a toss sweep in the backfield and linebacker Christian Ellis knifing through for a run stop on the next series.
Harold Landry, who stood out in last week’s joint practices against Washington, continued his strong summer by tapping off quarterback J.J. McCarthy for a sack before Ellis and Chaisson combined for another would-be sack on the very next play. Robert Spillane was everywhere in the middle of the defense, flying to the ball and standing out with a pass breakup that ended one of the 11-on-11 periods.
After practice, Spillane praised the group’s energy and focus. “It’s another day at work,” Spillane said. “Great opportunity for us to come out here, learn everything we’ve been learning through camp, and just go put it on display. I’m really proud of our defense, in particular, how we came out here with energy, flying around, getting to the ball, communicating. All the things that we pride ourselves on, we got done today. We got better.”
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