Patriots on pace to best the 2000 Ravens for fewest points allowed in a season

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Every week there are multiple statistical feats that the Patriots defense accomplishes.

Whether it's not allowing their opponent to score a touchdown for three weeks, becoming the first team since 1996 to record 18 interceptions over its first seven games, or totaling the highest point differential through seven games since 1940, the Patriots are routinely earning themselves a place among the league's best teams ever. 

As they continue to show no signs of slowing down, a record set by the 2000 Ravens has come into focus. As Christopher Price points out, the Patriots are well on pace to allow fewer points than the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore defense led by Ray Lewis. The Ravens allowed 75 points through their first seven games and 165 points for the season.

The Patriots have only allowed 48 points and are the first team to allow fewer than 50 points and open the season 7-0 since 1934. This puts them on pace for a season total around 109 points, which would obliterate the NFL record. 

Forget about becoming a sub-200 defense, the Patriots have been so good that they could be flirting with a sub-100 season during the latter half of the year. 

Of course, there's the caveat of weak competition. They've had matchups with the Dolphins, Giants, Redskins, Steelers and two games against the Jets. That's not exactly a murderer's row of opponents, but there's a reason so few teams have been able to put up the kind of numbers the Patriots defense has in the first two months of the 2019 season. 

Next week they have the Browns, who had high expectations coming into the year but have predictably faltered out of the gate. Their offensive line is bad and Baker Mayfield has been prone to make some costly mistakes when under heavy pressure. So there's more than a good chance more of these posts will be written next week as the New England defense continues to suffocate any team it comes across. 

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