Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images The third-year defender registered a career-high three sacks against Broncos QB Russell Wilson. For Christian Barmore, Christmas came a day early. The New England Patriots defensive tackle, who has played some magnificent football so far this season, delivered a career performance on Sunday night against the Denver Broncos. Barmore, who had entered the game with a team-leading 5.5 sacks to his name, took Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson down three times. It was the most sacks the 24-year-old has had, ever. Most importantly, Barmore’s performance helped the Patriots contain the ever-elusive Wilson and slow down Denver’s offense enough to secure a victory. Led by the behemoth defensive lineman, New England celebrated a 26-23 win on Christmas Eve. “My coach, he told me to turn up,” Barmore said after the game. “I said, ‘Yes sir, I got you.’ The first half felt a little sloppy, but in the second half I turned it up. That was my goal.” A second-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2021, Barmore showed considerable promise as a rookie. Injury problems prevented him from having a similar impact during his sophomore season, but his talent still managed to shine through on occasion — just not as consistently as it had the previous year. In order to return to those levels of play, Barmore made sure to put the work in during the 2023 offseason. “I had a little injury last year, I think that slowed me down,” he said. “So, I said to myself that I don’t want to go through that again, so I have to work 10 times harder. So, I took the offseason really seriously, trained every day. Talk to my coach, [DeMarcus Covington], he’s always there. He contacts me saying, ‘You do your thing?’ ‘Yes sir.’ Just focused on being the best player I can be for my team.” Now, Barmore is reaping the benefits of his work. He has developed into a true nightmare for opposing offenses, and the Broncos found out first-hand on Sunday. By his own admission, Barmore started the game slowly. By the third quarter, however, he significantly turned up the heat: on the very first play from scrimmage after the half, he took down Wilson for a 8-yard loss. Later, he added sacks of 9 and 8 more as well as one forced fumble that was recovered by Denver. In addition, Barmore also added another quarterback hit and hurry, and had two tackles for loss in the running game. The Broncos, at times, did not appear to have an answer for him. My Christman gift to the timeline is Christian Barmore wreaking havoc on the Broncos' offense pic.twitter.com/IUMa8T5o20— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) December 25, 2023 For his head coach, Barmore’s success on Sunday and throughout the season can all be traced back to his training regimen and discipline. “It was by far his best offseason. He’s continued to train really hard which has, I think, kept him a little healthier,” Bill Belichick said. “He’s played a lot of football but he’s been able to maintain that health and that conditioning [because of] that offseason training. His lower body has really helped him with both conditioning, and also just his explosive power. And the experience has helped him. He did a good job [Sunday]. We had set up a couple of things that worked well that he was able to take advantage of.” Playing on a consistently high level over the better part of the season, Barmore has a strong case as the Patriots’ best player on either side of the ball. He also has become one of the most disruptive interior D-linemen, period, in all of football. Could all of that result in individual recognition, such as a Pro Bowl selection? He certainly seems worthy of that honor, but as Barmore said on Sunday, his focus lies elsewhere. He just wants to dominate. “I just come here to help my team, be the best player I can for my team, and help them win,” Barmore said. “Make my defense proud, make my coaches proud. And just come here, and, you know, they always tell me, ‘Hey, dominate.’ I say, ‘Yes sir.’” Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2023/12/25/2 ... erformance
