ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Had Devin McCourty lost a step?
People seemed to think so this season following a couple of rough outings for this 31-year-old safety. On Monday night, however, it became very clear that McCourty wasn’t lacking any playing speed.
With 6:09 left in the game, McCourty jumped in front of a Derek Anderson pass and sprinted back 84 yards for the touchdown. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, McCourty reached a top speed of 22.05 miles [...]
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Had Devin McCourty lost a step?
People seemed to think so this season following a couple of rough outings for this 31-year-old safety. On Monday night, however, it became very clear that McCourty wasn’t lacking any playing speed.
With 6:09 left in the game, McCourty jumped in front of a Derek Anderson pass and sprinted back 84 yards for the touchdown. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, McCourty reached a top speed of 22.05 miles per hour on his interception return. That’s the fastest speed reached by a ball carrier this season and the first call carrier to reach 22-plus MPH in 2018.
“I guess I gained step back,” McCourty said when asked about the notion that he was slowing down. “It was just cool because once I got to the sideline just all the guys were all over it, telling me about it. I’m not really worried about me losing a step. Just go out there and play and today I got to showcase a little bit of the speed. I’m 31. Hopefully, I can hold on to that speed for a little bit while longer.”
McCourty has had some rough moments this season. He was responsible for two touchdowns allowed in the Patriots win over the Indianapolis Colts and then two in the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs. His play on Monday was a good sign for the Patriots.
The interception marked McCourty's first of the year. It was big for the Patriots, too, as it represented just their second touchdown of the game and put the Buffalo Bills out of reach.
“As a defense, we kind of new from the formation what we could get,” McCourty said. “There’s a couple of options. Just trying to bait him into the throw a little bit and then reading the quarterback and going to get the ball. Big play for us. Something that we knew we could get especially with [Charles] Clay being one of their go-to guys.”
When told about McCourty’s timed speed, even Bill Belichick seemed impressed.
“Looked fast to me, yeah, I don’t know I didn’t have a clock on me,” Belichick said. “He looked fast running down there. It’s good to see.”