The New England Patriots have been among the best teams in the NFL in 2025 — but that isn’t stopping their detractors from pointing out flaws.

No, we aren’t talking about the whole schedule thing…

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointed out one “fatal flaw” that he sees in the club during Tuesday’s episode of NFL Live .

“You’re in nickel too much for me,” Orlovsky said. “In 2025, I can’t allow you to play a safe defense and still have success. They’re in nickel, it feels like, every single snap.”

It’s not every single snap, but it’s relatively close.

The Patriots play nickel defense at the third-highest clip (76%) in the NFL, trailing just the Seattle Seahawks (84%) and Atlanta Falcons (77%) — with only one off-ball linebacker (Robert Spillane; 97.10%) but five defensive backs (Craig Woodson;

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