FOXBOROUGH, Mass — There weren't many bright spots in the New England Patriots' 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but the disappointing afternoon did offer one encouraging takeaway: New England appears to have found a special young talent on the edge.
Elijah Ponder tallied 1.5 sacks, bringing his season total up to a team-high 7.5 in nine games. But when asked about his impressive performance, the second-year edge rusher's message was clear.
"Honestly, whatever I did today, it just wasn't enough for the team," he told Patriots Wire exclusively. "And that's really all that's on my mind right now. Just got to do more, do better."
Ponder's first sack came at the start of the second quarter, bringing Packers quarterback Jordan Love down
for a loss of eight on third down, forcing Green Bay to settle for a field goal, giving them a 17-point lead rather than three touchdowns. As for his second, he split it with Dre'Mont Jones, bringing Love down at the end of the first half for a loss of six.
"Barmore, he had a game, he gave me a great pick. I came free, and I just made the play that was in front of me," he explained. "And then, Dre'Mont had a great rush on the other side, and I just happened to be there. So it's really all the other guys and I'm just happy to see them make plays and I'm happy to be there with them making plays."
Ponder was an undrafted free agent last season, but earned himself a spot on the roster and has now become one of the consistent and disruptive players on the Patriots. However, it's just the beginning for him, as he knows he's got a lot more in store.
"I feel like everyone's always chasing that perfect game, but it's hard," Ponder explained. "Like it's damn near impossible in this game, football. But, that's what you're always chasing. So you're always going to look at the things that you could do better, and that's what you're just going to work on for next time."
Even though he might be a little hard on himself, his efforts are certainly not going unnoticed by his teammates.
"He's definitely flourishing to a dominant edge rusher in this league, and you can just tell by the way he plays," Gabe Jacas said. "Week to week, he's consistent, and that's one of the hardest things to do in this league: being consistent. That's what Ponder is. He's a consistent player. I respect him highly, and I just continue to mimic him as much as I can. Be a sponge and try to learn as much as I can, but Ponder's doing a good job, and just love the way he's playing."
Throughout the week, this game was being referred to as a measuring stick for the Patriots, but after their performance, it raises questions about the team's identity and if they can bounce back from this. He said that the struggles on Sunday were "all over."
"They put a lot of points on the board as everyone saw, and we're not going to be able win like that," he added. "And we didn't take the ball away. And when you play like that, it's just, you're not going to win. So we just got to do better overall."
But the Patriots are only in week 9, with a lot more football left to play, including a tough tilt against the Detroit Lions next weekend in Munich, Germany. While this game isn't one they will be proud of, they have to "learn from it and put it in the past," in the words of Ponder.
"Because if we dwell on this one, then we're not going to go anywhere," the edge defender said. "So just, we're going to watch the tape, learn, getting better, and then move on to next week."
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Elijah Ponder puts Patriots' loss ahead of his breakout performance
