Before Sunday, Anfernee Jennings had 3.5 sacks in 53 NFL games. On Sunday, the former Alabama standout registered two sacks in the New England Patriots’ 19-3 victory over the Chicago Bears.
The career-best performance by Jennings came in his third game in a new role for the Patriots. After New England traded outside linebacker Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs, Jennings became more than a first- and second-down edge-setter.
The past three games are among the four in his career during which Jennings played more than 86 percent of New England’s defensive snaps, with 97 percent in a 25-22 victory over the New York Jets on Oct. 27, 99 percent in a 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 3 and 93 percent in Sunday’s victory over the Bears.
“I’m seeing a player that’s tough, smart, dependable, a player that shows up every week for us,” Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said. “Taking a new role as far as helping us out on third down. I’m seeing a player who’s growing in a leadership role for us, which he’s a guy that leads by example and not really by words or being a vocal leader, but by his play style and his physical toughness. And so I’m encouraging that and I’m pushing that forward for him to be one of our leaders on defense.”
Against Chicago, Jennings also made three quarterback hits in a game for the second time in his career as New England tortured rookie quarterback Caleb Williams with nine sacks and 13 hits. Playing behind an offensive line missing its regular tackles, Williams completed 16-of-30 passes for 120 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and ran twice for 15 yards.
On Tuesday, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
“We just wanted to get into third down and contain him,” Jennings said of the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. “We felt pretty good about our matchups on the back end, and up front we took it upon ourselves to try to get after the quarterback, and we had success today. …
“I think we played just overall good defense. We prided ourselves this whole week off showing up with attitude, stopping the run and winning third down and keeping the quarterback in the pocket.”
The Patriots play the Los Angeles Rams at noon CST Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
New England has a 3-7 record, with two of the victories coming in the three games since Jennings assumed an expanded role with the Patriots’ defense.
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A two-time All-State selection and the 2014 Class 4A Lineman of the Year at Dadeville, Jennings joined the Patriots from Alabama in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
In his first three seasons, Jennings played in 30 games with seven starts, recorded 47 tackles and one tackle for loss while playing 635 defensive snaps. That action came in the 2020 and 2022 seasons. Jennings missed the 2021 season with an undisclosed injury.
Most of that action came as an inside linebacker. But in 2023, Jennings played mostly as an edge defender, and his ability to set the edge played a big part in New England’s success in stopping the run.
Jennings began his fourth NFL season as a game-day inactive in the Patriots’ first two contests of 2023. But he started 14 of the remaining 15 games, recorded a career-high 66 tackles and led New England with 14 tackles for loss as the Patriots defense yielded a league-low average of 3.3 yards per rushing attempt.
A torn biceps suffered by Matthew Judon opened a spot on the field for Jennings early in the 2023 season, and he played 677 defensive snaps – 42 more than Jennings had in his first three NFL seasons combined.
Jennings stayed in New England rather than test free agency by signing a three-year, $12 million contract extension in March.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.