FOXBORO — In a recent meeting, Patriots coach Bill Belichick stood before his players and threw down the gauntlet.
“There will come a point in the season where we’re going to have to go for it,” Belichick told his team. “And we’re going to have to get it.”
On Sunday against Atlanta, that point Belichick spoke of arrived with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. Holding a slim 16-10 lead and facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 24-yard line, the decision was made — the Patriots were going to go for it. And they had to get it. If they missed out, they would be giving the Falcons the ball deep in New England territory, and a chance to retake the lead. But if the Patriots got the first down, it could be the sort of landmark, character-defining moment for a team that is still searching for an identity.
Running back Sammy Morris got the ball and went between center Dan Koppen and right guard Stephen Neal, right into the heart of the Atlanta defense and ground out 2 yards. The 68,756 in attendance erupted. First down, Patriots.
“Thank God we got it,” veteran running back Fred Taylor recalled after the game with a smile.
“I felt like we could get a yard,” explained Belichick after the game. “There would have been plenty of criticism if we didn’t.”
New England would face another fourth-down situation later in the same drive, but this one held far less drama — by that time, the Patriots were already well into Atlanta territory, and a 21-yard pass from Tom Brady to Randy Moss allowed the Patriots to pick up the first down. New England finished that drive with a field goal to take a 19-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and would tack on a late touchdown to put the game out of reach (check out the full game recap here).
But that successful fourth-down conversion, and the series that came after it, was one of the first times all season where the Patriots showed a flash of some of that familiar championship spark. Instead of waiting for the opposition to give them something, they were able to take it, imposing their will on an opponent and recalling the days of the 2003 and 2004 Patriots.
“It was a big play for us,” Brady said. “We had a few third-and-1s this season — fourth-and-1 against Buffalo that we missed, a third-and-1 against the Jets we missed.
“It was a good day. It was a good day,” added the quarterback, who finished 25-for-42 for 277 yards and one touchdown. “There were a lot of positives to take from it, and I think we’re learning a little bit each time we play. Hopefully, we keep it going.”
Here are nine other things we learned Sunday at Gillette Stadium:
BRANDON McGOWAN IS BECOMING AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE NEW ENGLAND DEFENSE
The 26-year-old safety started training camp as a spare part, an extra defensive back who was considered a long shot to make the 53-man roster. But he had an excellent training camp. In the preseason, he showed a real knack for being around the ball, forcing fumbles and delivering big hits.
On Sunday, he caused great havoc all afternoon. Early on, he had a nice takedown of the ball-carrier on a kick return, played very well when matched up against Atlanta all-world tight end Tony Gonzalez and delivered a crushing hit on Matt Ryan midway through the second quarter on a ball that ended up going as an incomplete pass. In addition, he had the forced fumble on Michael Turner late in the second quarter.
In the end, he was all over the scoresheet — he had four tackles, one quarterback hit, one forced fumble and one special teams tackle
“It seems like he does a good job for us every week in the kicking game and on defense,” Belichick said of the Maine product. “He’s involved in a lot of plays, makes tackles, and is a good coverage player.”
McGowan was able to do a good job setting the tone for a defense that stiffened up in the second half without nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who was lost late in the first half after injuring
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