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The Patriots latest defensive game plan was nothing special. No big plays. Harass Justin Herbert. The two-pronged approach is common, perhaps even universal, across the NFL, where its widely understood that pressuring quarterbacks and eliminating big plays is a winning formula. More uncommon is the success the Pats enjoyed executing that plan, which reached a new height Sunday in Los Angeles. Over their 45-0 blowout of the Chargers, the Patriots pressured Herbert on more than 40% of his dropbacks, one of their highest pressure rates of the year. It was the second straight week the Pats defended the pass at an elite level, having held Arizonas Kyler Murray without a touchdown for the first time all season before they gave Herbert a four-quarter noogie Sunday. The Pats didnt even need to blitz the rookie to bother him. Instead, they knifed through the Chargers O-line with an unrelenting wave of twists and stunts on 4-man rushes. The Patriots blitzed on fewer than 10% of Herberts pass attempts. In fact, they generated more pressure on 3-man rushes which yielded two of their three sacks than when they blitzed. The Pats recent performances have been a stark change from their last loss, a 27-20 defeat at the hands of the Texans, who carved them up for three touchdowns in one half. We dropped the ball a little bit against Houston, and we came back out and said were going to go back to our bread and butter. Were going to dominate, were going to come after you and were going to get on these receivers, Pats safety Adrian Phillips said. And thats what weve been doing. In the secondary, Patriots cornerback J. C. Jackson snagged his seventh interception of the season on a clever play where he managed to simultaneously cover his receiver and keep and eye on Herbert. Facing a rare fourth-down blitz, Herbert lofted an overthrown pass toward the sideline, where Jackson left his man running further downfield