The defense was not awful all year. Hyperbole about how bad the defense was is not any better than hyperbole about how good it was.
This was a defense on par with the 2011 defense, give or take a little. Neither were SB quality, but but both had the advantage of BB and TB to (almost) overcome the mediocrity.
The D was historically bad the first four games of the year. It did improve but the stink from the first four games never really left. This "bend not break" defense wasn't going to work all year. At some point they would break and this was the game. Hell they should have lost against the Jags had Brady not bailed them out.












