New England Patriots’ Kyle Dugger Finding His Way To The NFL Lead In Defensive Touchdowns

No player around the NFL has scored more touchdowns on defense this regular season than the No. 37 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Kyle Dugger made it three trips to the end zone on New Year’s Day.

In the third quarter of a 14-10 deficit at Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots safety picked off Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The pass intended for wide receiver Trent Sherfield instead became a sideline escape to the end zone from 39 yards out.

“Just Cover 2 dropping as the middle player,” Dugger said during his postgame press conference. “Got some odd drops, saw my threat was eliminated, so I was able to get my eyes back to the quarterback and get around to the backside vertical. Once I got my hands on the ball, I knew I needed to score. It helped the team greatly. That was the goal.”

The lead would not be relinquished from there. The 23-21 victory brought his side to an 8-8 record and closer to an AFC wild-card spot with only more week guaranteed.

Never before had a New England defense scored seven touchdowns in a single season. That tally eclipsed a mark previously set in 2003. Never before had a New England defense scored a touchdown in four consecutive weeks, either.

The last to do so around the league was the one belonging to the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It just kind of shows that the mentality is get the ball and go score, get the ball and go score,” said Dugger. “Drive the drive, down the down. That’s just the mentality of us. I think that’s really the thing that highlights the most.”

The highlights would appear differently if not for the hard-hitting former Cliff Harris Award winner out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University.

“You can see Dug going, ‘I’m not going out of bounds, I’m finding a way into the end zone,’” Patriots captain and fellow safety Devin McCourty told reporters afterward. “… I would say over the latter part of the season he’s played great football. Really proud just to be able to be in there with him. His production and studying, his process throughout the season, it’s no wonder it’s paying off. The guy has been tremendous.”

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Dugger is the first Patriots player since 1970 with three defensive touchdowns in a campaign. Previously, he returned a fumble 59 yards for points against the Detroit Lions on Oct. 9 and an interception 13 yards for points against the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 18. In between, a forced fumble with his fingerprints on it became six against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 12.

“I think you’re going to have to write Kyle a blank check,” Patriots Pro Bowl outside linebacker Matthew Judon said Sunday. “That’s how good he is right there. Just for him to get that interception and then turn it into offense, that’s a one-man band. It just seemed like every week we come up with one. We’ve got to keep doing it, keep focused on it. That’s the goal. For Kyle to do that, it was a really unbelievable play.”

Dugger, who recorded his first career sack earlier this season, ranks second on New England with 72 tackles and tied for second with three interceptions. While starting each of his 14 games, he has stayed in for 694 snaps on defense and 115 snaps on special teams.

A base salary of $1.746 million and a cap number of $2.651 million lie ahead in the final year of the 26-year-old’s rookie contract.

But for now, so does next Sunday’s finale at Highmark Stadium versus the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.