Ted Johnson: Pats’ “terrible” pass defense a problem against the Seahawks

Ted Johnson: Pats’ ‘terrible’ pass defense a problem against Seahawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots gained 185 rushing yards on Sunday and have covered 355 yards on the ground in two games.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the passing game has been much less productive, and if you ask former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, the offensive line is to blame.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed just 15 of 27 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in New England’s 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium. Seattle’s defensive front pressured Brissett with three sacks and eight QB hits, while the veteran signal-caller took several tough hits throughout the game.

“The biggest problem in this game, even though they ran the football so much, is the pass defense,” Johnson said on NBC Sports Boston. Patriots postgame live, as seen in the video player above. “The pass protection was terrible. … (Brissett) was running for his life the whole time.”

Johnson noted that there was no one to blame on the offensive line, as Michael Onwenu – the team’s best blocker – was on hand for at least one sack.

“It wasn’t just Vederian Lowe. It wasn’t just Michael Jordan. It was Mike Onwenu, who you rely on as a guy you don’t have to worry about. He allows sacks, he allows pressure,” Johnson said. “Layden Robinson, who gave it his all in the first game, allowed a sack.”

Head coach Jerod Mayo has stressed that the Patriots will be a run-first team, and it’s a great sign that they’ve had success on the ground in the last two games. But with a passing attack that didn’t reach 150 yards in either of the first two games, they can’t go far.

“The offensive line is going to be the Achilles heel of this team because the passing game has to get better,” Johnson said.

“We know they can run dominant, but to win games like this and in the future, you have to throw the ball better. And you can only do that if you have an offensive line that protects the quarterback better than Jacoby protected today.”

The Patriots face another tough test on Thursday night against a stout New York Jets defense that has recorded seven sacks in two games. It’s no secret that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will focus heavily on the running game, but he’ll need his offensive line to do a better job of blocking passes if he wants to get more out of the air attack.

For more reactions from Johnson, Tom E. Curran and Michael Holley, watch the YouTube video below.