Patriots’ Matt Judon explains why he’s not worrying about statistical slowdown
The New England Patriots got an incredibly impressive start to Matt Judon’s career with the team. He came screaming out of the gate with 11.5 sacks in the first 11 games, and proved Bill Belichick right to give Judon a massive contract for four years and $54.5 million.
Over the last four games, Judon’s production has slowed, with one sack and one quarterback hit. He didn’t seem concerned with his statistical dip — he wasn’t even aware of it, when a reporter asked him. Judon pointed to the circumstances. The Colts, for example, ran heavily in Week 15 — and so did the Bills in Week 14 with crazy wind and snow. In Week 17, Judon played a limited role after spending the week on COVID-19/reserve.
“That’s just how it goes,” Judon said Thursday in a meeting with the media. “That’s why I’m happy I’ve got teammates. Guys like Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore, LG (Lawrence Guy), Chase (Winovich), (Josh) Uche, High (Dont’a Hightower). … I want to be that guy. I want to be the guy that everybody look upon. Sometimes, I might get blocked differently and other guys step up and I love what they do and I celebrate and enjoy their success as much as they celebrate and enjoy my success. I’m not going to watch stats.”
Judon is having one of the best seasons of his career, no matter how you measure it. He has 12.5 sacks, 57 tackles, 61 pressures and 25 quarterback hits. The Patriots are 10-6 and headed to the postseason. Maybe he’s had a slow few weeks. On the whole, it seems everything looks just fine to him.
“This season is incredible,” Judon said. “It’s had its ups and downs. Personally, individually, I’ve been having a very good season — my best season since I’ve been in the NFL. As a team, we’ve been to war, been to battle. We’ve lost some tough games and we’ve lost some tougher games, so I’m having fun.”
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