FOXBORO -- The Patriots may not be playing for playoff positioning at this point in the season. But their defense is playing for a little slice of team history when it comes to their run defense. Through 16 weeks, they lead the NFL in yards allowed per carry (3.2), which if it holds would be the best of Bill Belichick's 24-year tenure.
"They ain't even do [expletive] like that when Vince Wilfork was here," Davon Godchaux said this week.
No. Not quite.
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The Patriots defense was, of course, outstanding when it came to stopping the run during the early days of their dynasty.
With Wilfork (first-round pick in 2004), Richard Seymour (first-rounder in 2001), and Ty Warren (first-rounder in 2003) -- not to mention fellow front-seven defenders like linebackers Ted Johnson, Roman Phifer and Tedy Bruschi, edge defenders Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinest and nose tackle Ted Washington -- Belichick had the muscle necessary to snuff out opposing handoffs on a regular basis.
While the team under Belichick has never hit the 3.5 yards-per-carry-allowed mark prior to this season, they allowed 3.6 on average in both 2003 and 2005. That's the record since Belichick's first season. In 2000, they allowed 3.7 per attempt. And in 2004, 2006, 2012, and 2016, they finished at 3.9.
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But this year could put the Patriots in some elite league-wide company over the last two decades.
The 2014 Lions had the last defense to hit 3.2 yards per carry allowed. The Steelers in 2010 checked in allowing just 3.0 yards per attempt. The Vikings in 2007 and 2006 -- led by defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams -- allowed 3.1 and 2.8 yards per carry, respectively. Baltimore in 2007 (2.8) and Washington in 2004 (3.1) were also ridiculously stingy when opponents tried to run it.
Based on the numbers, this season puts the Patriots in that conversation as one of the NFL's top-10 run defenses of the last 20 years.
"It's outstanding," Godchaux said when asked how much he appreciates his team's per-attempt figure.
"It's outstanding because a lot of people really don't take pride in stopping the run. I look at it like, the weather outside is getting ugly. Playoff football teams, they've gotta have a good run defense, they've gotta be able to stop the run, and they've gotta have good special teams.
"I take a lot of pride in that. You allow guys like (Christian) Barmore to go get sacks on third down. The run defense -- if you've got a good run defense, you've got a good defense overall. Because to me it speaks all about toughness."
Between Godchaux, Barmore, Lawrence Guy, Deatrich Wise, and Anfernee Jennings on the defensive line, there's a stout group to handle the point of attack. Linebackers Ja'Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai are effective downhill players themselves, as are safeties Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger.
But Godchaux, signed in 2021, is the highest-paid player for the Patriots on the interior of their defensive line. And he swells with pride that their run defense has steadily improved since his arrival.
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In 2020, prior to signing Godchaux, the Patriots allowed 4.5 yards per rushing attempt. They were 26th in rush yards allowed per game (131.4). That per-carry number held firm in 2021, but the per-game figure dropped (22nd, 123.7). Then both sank last season. Their 4.1 yards allowed per carry in 2022 (fourth in the NFL) helped set the stage for what they've done this year. And Godchaux has been in the middle of it all, playing all 15 games.
"When I first got here... they struggled with their run defense, one of the last in the league," Godchaux said. "Then my first year here it was 22nd (yards per game). Last year it was sixth. This year it's No. 1 (yards per carry). I mean, it's all about having pride. We're progressing each and every year. I'm glad we can do a good job with the front and dominate our opponents."