After about a month of their defense not working properly the New England Patriots finally got a performance out that unit as they were able to take down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-14 on Thursday night. It was a far from perfect performance from the Patriots – Tampa Bay kicker Nick Folk missed three field goals that would have switched the winner if he had connected – but the Patriots were better.
Their defense was able to pretty much stop the Buccaneers cold on third down and they didn't allow Jameis Winston to complete a long pass all night. With Tom Brady given just enough time in the pocket to thrive, the Patriots avoided their first 2-3 start since 2001.
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