The Patriots defense has been able to hold its ground and keep opposing offenses at bay when games hit prime time.

Dallas Morning News / LOUIS DeLUCA

FOXBORO — With the New England Patriots a pristine 10-0 heading into tonight’s prime-time matchup with Philadelphia and touting the top-rated offense and third-ranked defense in the NFL, any criticisms of the team at this point seem like nitpicking.

But hey, while we’re picking at that leftover turkey, we can pick a bit on the Pats.

With New England averaging more than 41 points per game, the defense hasn’t been tested all that often, and as the season progresses, especially into the playoffs, it may be necessary for a stand to be made.

If that time comes … well, Tedy Bruschi puts it best:

“When I stand there in the huddle and call the defense and I look at those defensive players, I know those guys are definitely the guys to get it done,” he said.

As Bruschi and Rodney Harrison noted, this unit isn’t green. Though core defensive linemen Ty Warren, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green have an average age of 27.5 years, each has been with the Pats for four years or longer.

The linebacking rotation — the one that was supposed to be too old for a lot of pundits — have a combined 58 years of NFL experience. And the secondary, while basically young, is playoff-tested as well.

To Harrison, the question of whether the defense will be ready if need be has already been answered.

“What’s been the result in the past?,” he asked, referring to New England’s Super Bowl titles. “The past has no (influence) on what happens in the future, but a lot of the players are the same.”

Nine of the 11 defensive starters from Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, when New England beat the Eagles, are still contributors on this year’s team; linebackers Willie McGinest, who signed with Cleveland that offseason, and Roman Phifer, who retired, have been replaced by future Hall of Famer Junior Seau and versatile Adalius Thomas.

There have really been but two times that the Patriots have needed the defense, and the unit has come through with flying colors in each opportunity.

After Dallas took a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter in Week Six, the New England “D” allowed the Cowboys just two first downs the rest of the way. The offense responded by scoring three more touchdowns.

In Indianapolis, a.k.a. the Greatest Regular Season Game Ever (This Season), the Patriots were down by 10 with less than 10 minutes to play. Tom Brady drove New England down the field to get within three points, and Rosevelt Colvin ended the Colts’ ensuing drive with an 8-yard sack.

A great punt return by Wes Welker gave the Pats a short field, and three plays later they had taken the lead — but there was still more than enough time for Peyton Manning to get his team into the end zone.

That is, until Green smacked Manning on third down, popping the ball out of his hand and into Colvin’s mitts. Game over.

“You get experience by playing,” Harrison said. “Ellis [Hobbs] has been here, ‘Zant’ [Asante Samuel] has been in big games. We prepare (and) I don’t think being in tight games makes us panic because we’ve been in big games before.”

As New England creeps toward a possible perfect season, each game from here on out will be a big game, though the Patriots always say whichever game is on the schedule is a big one because it’s the next one. But with national media outlets sending reporters to Foxboro every week to chronicle this potentially history-making squad, the spotlight will grow harsher.

Bruschi, however, knows that his teammates won’t shrink out of the glare.

“I know we have a lot of big playmakers on this defense,” he said. “The (young) guys are starting to show that they can do it too: James Sanders forcing that fumble [in Buffalo] and Ellis plucking it out the air for a touchdown.”

OK, we told you we were nitpicking, but it seems like this issue isn’t even one to worry about.

At least that leftover turkey was pretty good.

smanza@projo.com