The Patriots’ Brandon Meriweather knocks the ball from the hands of Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game amid the snowflakes. The Patriots recovered the ball.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

Brandon Meriweather helped put the exclamation point on a thoroughly forgettable first drive by Arizona backup quarterback Matt Leinart on Sunday, as Meriweather strip-sacked Leinart and the ball was recovered by teammate Jarvis Green.

Leinart missed on his first two pass attempts, then simply dropped the ball on his fourth snap, though Arizona was able to keep possession. His third pass was nearly picked off by Deltha O’Neal, and then on third-and-17, Meriweather came around the edge.

It was the second time in three games that Meriweather has been Brandon-on-the spot. The first time came at a critical moment: in Seattle, he knocked the ball loose from Seneca Wallace and Richard Seymour recovered to seal the win for the Patriots.

In his own deferential way, Meriweather said it was “a good call at a good time” when asked about the play, and when pressed again, gave the kudos to someone else.

Matthew Slater “did a great job of drawing the running back’s attention his way. I was showing blitz the whole day,” he said, and on that play, “I went for the ball more than the sack.”

In his day-after news conference yesterday, coach Bill Belichick talked about Slater’s role in the sack.

“The way they blocked it, their five linemen took our five linemen and the one back in the backfield took one safety. He ended up taking the safety to his side, which was Slater, and Meriweather was free on the other side. I think if the safeties would have been reversed, he would have still blocked the guy to his side,” Belichick explained.

Slater took snaps in all three phases of the game against the Cardinals: his customary role on special teams, a handful as a receiver, and just over a dozen with the defense. The fifth-round draft pick has alternated white (offense) and blue (defense) practice jerseys all season as he’s learned his various roles.

Hochstein’s many roles

Russ Hochstein has become an offensive Swiss Army knife: in his six years with the Patriots, he has started at left guard, right guard and center, has lined up as a blocking tight end, and has made cameo appearances as a fullback.

On Sunday, he was showing that versatility again, taking snaps at tight end, and was the fullback for LaMont Jordan’s second touchdown, a three-yard rush. The 6-foot-4 Nebraska native saw his role grow as the forecast got more treacherous, Belichick explained yesterday.

“I thought Russ did a great job for us. It was an outstanding performance, stepping in and playing some spots at tight end and fullback,” Belichick said. “We put in several of those plays on Friday and then Saturday as the forecast deteriorated at the end of the week. We thought we would be in some bigger personnel groupings, and Russ really did an outstanding job for us. We ran several of those plays behind him, again, playing at the end of the line, playing in the backfield, plays where he normally doesn’t get a lot of playing time. I thought he made those adjustments nicely.”

smanza@projo.com