On the Packers’ first drive, they picked up 41 yards on six plays, getting into the red area after a Brandon Browner penalty. But once they were there, they got just 2 more yards, on a first-down run by Randall Cobb.

That is, until it got inside the 20.

FOXBOROUGH — When the Patriots traveled to Green Bay in late November, the Packers offense, led by Aaron Rodgers, moved the ball fairly easily on the New England defense on its first two possessions.

Running back Eddie Lacy was stuffed for no gain on second down by defensive tackle Alan Branch, and a third-down pass intended for Davante Adams drifted out of bounds.


Green Bay had to take a 32-yard field goal.

Second drive, similar story: nine plays and 55 yards to start, but after Lacy converted a third-and-1 with a 4-yard carry to put the Packers at the 18, they gained 1 yard, had two incomplete passes, and settled for a 35-yard field goal.

When the Packers got the ball a third time, they got into the end zone, but not by going through the red zone. After a 45-yard gain on third and short, Rodgers threw a 32-yard touchdown strike to tight end Richard Rodgers.

All told, in the Patriots’ loss at Green Bay, the defense held one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL without a touchdown in four red zone trips. The Packers went into the game getting touchdowns on 63.6 percent of their trips inside the 20.

It was the highlight effort of what has been a stellar run of red area defense for New England: Over the past five games, beginning with the win over Detroit, the defense has given up just one red zone touchdown in 12 opponent opportunities.

“That’s huge,” said Branch, whose signing in October helped fortify the defensive line. “Having a team make it all the way to the red zone and not have them come out with 7, that’s a big deal for us.


“Why? I’m not quite sure because I’m not an X’s and O’s guy, but it’s definitely a big deal for us.”

Before their current run, the Patriots had allowed 19 touchdowns in 32 opponent red zone chances, a nearly 60 percent rate that ranked 20th in the league. Now at 20 for 44 on the season (45.5 percent), they are sixth in the league.

“It’s definitely key,” Devin McCourty said. “I think one of the biggest reasons is just paying attention to detail. Our coaches are on us heavy about the red area. There were games where we went 2 for 3 [the Colts, the week before the Detroit game] or 3 for 4 [Denver, the week before that] and some of them, they got the ball in the red area.

“Matty P [defensive coordinator Matt Patricia] is heavy on that: When you play defense, you can’t control when a team gets the ball, but you can control how many points you give up, so I think just keep paying attention to detail.

“When we practice red zone, you can tell everyone has a heightened sense about having a good practice that day and about keeping the scout offense out of the end zone, not having plays where a guy makes a great catch or we have busted coverages. We’re trying to be on point in red area and third down.”


As Branch noted, when the defense holds a team to a field goal and then the offense comes on and scores a touchdown, it shifts things in the Patriots’ favor.

“If we stop them for only 3 points and our offense goes out there and gets 7, that’s a 4-point [difference], so that puts us above the curve, and it gives us the momentum, so it’s definitely important for us to do,” Branch said.

With the postseason on the horizon, maintaining their red zone stinginess is important, as is keeping that attention to detail. Denver, Cincinnati, and potential playoff teams San Diego and Baltimore are all in the top half of the NFL when it comes to red zone success.

The Chargers are the team that scored the lone touchdown during New England’s current stretch.

“I think it’s helped us out a lot, we’ve just kept improving, week in and week out, at it,” McCourty said. “So the hardest thing now is to keep getting better at that at a point in the season now where everyone knows what everyone’s doing.

“There’s enough film out there on every team, I don’t care who you are. There’s not enough time to revamp all your schemes, so that puts more pressure on the players to really execute now.”

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Shalise Manza Young can be reached at syoung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shalisemyoung.