The prism through which the New England Patriots’ defense is viewed has so much more to do with what it hasn’t done than what it has, for whatever reason. So for the next 10 days we will hear and read about how Russell Wilson shredded them and how Le’Veon Bell got hurt against them and how Matt Ryan will hang 40 on them.

But let’s examine what turned out to be the critical juncture of the Patriots’ 36-17 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday night’s AFC championship game: Pittsburgh’s first and goal from six inches out, second quarter, trailing by 17-6. By now, days later, we’re supposed to be in look-ahead mode, focused on Super Bowl LI and Ryan vs. Tom Brady and Roger Goodell vs. Robert Kraft and blah blah blah.

But what happened at that crux Sunday night provides the best indication of what the Patriots will need to do to win Feb. 5 in Houston. To some degree, a Patriots defense that has been told — and will be told again — that it hasn’t faced a quarterback of Ryan’s caliber all season will have to stop a quarterback of Ryan’s caliber, not to mention the arsenal around him, inarguably the best offense in the sport.

So in that moment when the AFC championship game could have swung, here is how the Patriots responded: Linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Patrick Chung blew through left guard and dropped Pittsburgh back DeAngelo Williams for a loss on first down; rookie defensive tackle Vincent Valentine exploded into the backfield to crush Williams for a three-yard loss on second down; and on third down, the flummoxed Steelers tried an ineffectual pass into the flat that fell harmlessly to the turf.

Field goal instead of touchdown, Steelers. Ballgame, Patriots.

1 of 53 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × 50 of the best moments in Super Bowl history View Photos Relive some of the great plays and key player performances from past Super Bowl games. Caption Relive some of the great plays and key player performances from past Super Bowl games. Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

[NFLPA composing proposal for ‘less punitive’ approach to marijuana use]

The Patriots allowed fewer points than any other team in the NFL this season. They were better than the next-best team, the New York Giants, by more than two points per game.

And what they heard entering the game against the Steelers is that they hadn’t faced a team with a quarterback the caliber of Ben Roethlisberger and a running back the caliber of Bell and a receiver as dynamic as Antonio Brown. Put those together, New England was told, and watch out.

“We all took it personally,” defensive back Duron Harmon said.

Harmon is not a character viewers flip on the TV to see, and he is not alone. Here are the 11 players who started on New England’s defense against Pittsburgh and could well start against Atlanta: Alan Branch, Jabaal Sheard and Trey Flowers along the defensive line; Hightower, Rob Ninkovich and Elandon Roberts (another rookie) at linebacker; and Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Chung, Devin McCourty and Harmon at defensive back. (Wait. Where’s Jamie Collins, the playmaking, in-his-prime linebacker? Oh, right. The Patriots traded him to the Browns in midseason.)

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

If you don’t live between Darien, Conn., and Damariscotta, Maine, and yet are intimately familiar with four of those New England starters, you are an astute and enthusiastic football fan. We know Butler from his Super Bowl-saving pick against Seattle, maybe McCourty and Ninkovich because they have started more than 100 games for the Patriots (and Ninkovich because he was suspended to start 2016 after testing positive for a banned substance), Hightower because he was a first-round pick out of Alabama, which is on national television every week, and maybe — maybe — Chung?

So, fine, this isn’t Richard Dent and Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton leading the ’85 Bears. And it isn’t even Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor, all recognizable performers from the current-day Seahawks. Still.

[Thursday Night Football not a problem for half of NFL players, DeMaurice Smith says]

Before they arrive in Houston, the Patriots will have been made well aware of who they aren’t and what they haven’t done. They haven’t yet faced a quarterback who ranked among the top 10 in passer rating during the regular season; Roethlisberger was 11th. They have been made aware that Bell, one of the league’s most dynamic and powerful backs, was unavailable for the Steelers in that first-and-goal situation because of a groin injury, allowing them to demolish Williams, a lesser task. They have been made aware that, in one of the few instances in which they did face a quarterback of some stature — Nov. 13 against Seattle — Wilson dismantled them for 348 yards and three touchdowns in what remains New England’s most recent loss.

This is the case built against the Patriots, with all this time to chew between now and kickoff. Ryan, the league’s top-rated passer, and the Falcons, the league’s highest-scoring offense, should pounce.

And the Patriots do not care. Nor should they.

Atlanta has scored at least four touchdowns in 11 of its 18 games. Games in which the Patriots have allowed four touchdowns: zero. Atlanta has scored more than 31 points 12 times, including its past six games. Games in which the Patriots have allowed more than 31 points: zero.

Could Ryan and the Falcons score five touchdowns and 40-something points on New England? Sure. But don’t get caught up in what the Patriots’ defense hasn’t done.

“We know who we are,” Harmon said.

A week from Sunday, it’s possible everyone else will, too.