Ty Law rips Patriots defense: ‘I’m really upset about what’s going on’

The New England Patriots defense had major problems against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on Sunday in Week 6. Dallas punted just once in the game, and finished with either a field goal attempt or a touchdown on all its final five drives.

Prescott finished with 445 passing yards, the most ever by a quarterback against a Bill Belichick defense in a single game. Former Patriots cornerback Ty Law is ringing the alarm bells. He’s worried.

“I’m really upset about what’s going on,” Law said during an appearance on WEEI, as transcribed by MassLive.com. “Because you don’t let people come in there and walk all over you, throw the ball like that anytime they want to. I mean, that’s shameful.”

New England’s offense had some issues in the closing moments of the game. Most notably, the Patriots managed to generate a missed 51-yard field goal with a 1-point lead and 2:42 left in the game. If New England got a first down, the game was essentially over. Instead, rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw a pick-six, reopening the door to a Dallas win. Still, Law saw more issues on defense than on offense.

“Defense, they have to step up,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in this offseason. I can tell you right now, if I had a vote, we’d be going (defense in) first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth round (of the NFL draft) — we’re getting all defensive guys and we’re going to get some wide receivers and running back in free agency, because something’s got to give with the defense

If was the weakest link on Sunday, it was cornerback Jalen Mills, who has been CB2 for the entire season. He allowed 5 of 7 targets for 75 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. He seemed likely to move into a backup role when Stephon Gilmore came back from PUP list, but the Patriots traded their star cornerback to the Carolina Panthers. It seems Mills will be a starter for the foreseeable future.

“You have to have somebody that can cover,” Law said. “I mean, we were looking for Jackson to step up. He was playing pretty good football. But I didn’t want to pass him the mantle just yet when we’re talking about him compared to Stephon Gilmore. But you have to have guys in the back that can step up and make plays.”

List

What went wrong for the Patriots in their loss to the Cowboys in Week 6