FOXBORO — If there was one play to illustrate Kyle Van Noy’s progression over the course of this season, it came in Sunday night’s 23-7 win by the Patriots over the Atlanta Falcons.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Atlanta faced a fourth-and-goal at the Patriots 1-yard line. Out of an empty backfield, Falcons receiver Taylor Gabriel went in motion to the right and took a handoff from quarterback Matt Ryan on a jet sweep. With the help of some penetration from Pats defensive lineman Trey Flowers, Van Noy was able to shoot into the backfield and cut off Gabriel’s angle.