BY NICK ST. DENIS
The New England Patriots' Monday night matchup with the Carolina Panthers features two of the NFL's most disciplined teams.
The Patriots are the league's fifth-least penalized squad, averaging just 4.56 flags a game. The Panthers are right behind, getting flagged on the sixth-fewest occasions with 4.98 penalties a game.
Both teams are also ranked near the top in turnover differential, with New England third at plus-nine and Carolina fourth at plus-eight.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick opened his Wednesday press conference noting Carolina's acumen in those categories.
"Well-coached, not very many penalties, doing a good job protecting the ball, turning it over," he said, via Patriots.com. "Making a lot of key plays at the right time in all three phases of the game – they are a very opportunistic and instinctive team."
Carolina's defense has snagged 13 interceptions, tied for the the most in the league, while the Patriots are tied for fifth in picks with 12.
