New England gives up few points despite allowing tons of yardage. Will that last another week? If you focus on yards allowed per play, the Patriots had the second-worst defense in the NFL this season. They gave up 5.7 yards per snap, better than only the Buccaneers ’ even 6. In total defensive yards allowed, New England was fourth from last. It wasn’t difficult for offenses all around the league to take big chunks against this Pats’ defense. But by the measures that matter at the end of the day, the Patriots were stingy. They were No. 5 in the league in points allowed per game, at 18.5. And while they gave up the third-most yards per defensive series , (33.5), they allowed 1.6 points per series — the sixth-best mark in the league. By pretty much any measure, New England is one of the five worst defenses in the league at preventing yards and one of the five best at preventing points. “Bend but don’t break” is a cliche as old as defense itself, but the Patriots are its dictionary d