After their two most impressive wins of the season came in consecutive weeks, it’s fair to say the New England Patriots have found their groove 10 days out from Super Bowl LIII.
They also know what’s working right now. The offensive personnel combination they’ve used most often this postseason is also their third most productive per play.
The Patriots have used 22 different offensive lineups in two postseason games, and the most common looks like this. Expect to see it a lot next Sunday when the Patriots take on the Los Angeles Rams.
QB Tom Brady
RB James White
WR Phillip Dorsett
WR Chris Hogan
WR Julian Edelman
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Trent Brown
LG Joe Thuney
C David Andrews
RG Shaq Mason
RT Marcus Cannon
The Patriots’ offense has been on the field for 172 snaps, and that combo has been used in 42 of them. The Patriots average 8.12 yards per play from it. That’s 8.76 yards per pass and 4.29 yards per run. It has generated 27 first downs and two touchdowns.
Their most productive unit overall is this:
QB Tom Brady
RB James White
RB Rex Burkhead
WR Chris Hogan
WR Julian Edelman
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Trent Brown
LG Joe Thuney
C David Andrews
RG Shaq Mason
RT Marcus Cannon
That lineup has been on the field for two plays and averaged 16.5 yards per pass.
The Patriots’ least productive commonly used personnel grouping is this one:
QB Tom Brady
RB Sony Michel
FB James Develin
WR Julian Edelman
TE Dwayne Allen
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Trent Brown
LG Joe Thuney
C David Andrews
RG Shaq Mason
RT Marcus Cannon
That combination has been on the field for 14 plays and averages 3.07 yards per play, 3 yards per pass and 3.08 yards per run. They’ve only generated three first downs and no touchdowns. That’s a first-down hit rate of just 21.43 percent in what’s clearly a short-yardage package.
The Patriots’ far more productive short-yardage combo has been this:
QB Tom Brady
RB Sony Michel
FB James Develin
TE Dwayne Allen
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Trent Brown
LG Joe Thuney
C David Andrews
RG Shaq Mason
RT Marcus Cannon
OT LaAdrian Waddle
That grouping has two touchdowns on four snaps.
This combination is worth mentioning, as well:
QB Tom Brady
RB James White
WR Chris Hogan
WR Julian Edelman
WR Cordarrelle Patterson
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Trent Brown
LG Joe Thuney
C David Andrews
RG Shaquille Mason
RT Marcus Cannon
They’ve played 11 snaps together and average just 5.36 yards per play, all of which were passes.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots’ best personnel package has been this one:
DE John Simon
DT Lawrence Guy
DE Trey Flowers
LB Elandon Roberts
LB Kyle Van Noy
LB Dont’a Hightower
CB Stephon Gilmore
CB JC Jackson
CB Jonathan Jones
S Patrick Chung
S Devin McCourty
They’ve been on the field for seven of 112 overall snaps and let up -0.29 yards per play. They’ve allowed -3 passing yards and 1 rushing yard.
This combination has been nearly as disruptive on six passing snaps:
DE Adrian Clayborn
DT Adam Butler
DE Trey Flowers
LB Kyle Van Noy
LB Dont’a Hightower
CB Stephon Gilmore
CB JC Jackson
CB Jason McCourty
S Duron Harmon
S Patrick Chung
S Devin McCourty
That group has allowed 0 yards per play and has an interception.
The Patriots’ most common defensive grouping is this one:
DE John Simon
DE Adrian Clayborn
DT Adam Butler
DE Trey Flowers
LB Kyle Van Noy
LB Dont’a Hightower
CB Stephon Gilmore
CB JC Jackson
CB Jason McCourty
S Patrick Chung
S Devin McCourty
They’ve been on the field for 18 plays, let up 2.67 yards per play, 3 yards per 17 passing snaps and -3 yards on one rushing snap.
The Patriots’ least productive commonly used defensive personnel package is this:
DE John Simon
DT Malcom Brown
DT Lawrence Guy
DE Trey Flowers
LB Kyle Van Noy
LB Dont’a Hightower
CB Stephon Gilmore
CB JC Jackson
CB Jason McCourty
S Patrick Chung
S Devin McCourty
They’ve been on the field for seven snaps, let up 11.43 yards per play, 18 yards per pass and 2.67 yards per run.
White leads Patriots offensive players with 2.44 net yards over average per play. The Patriots average .26 more yards per run and .42 more yards per pass when White is on the field.
Defensive tackle Danny Shelton actually leads defensive players with 1.75 net yards over average per play. The Patriots let up 2.26 fewer yards per run and 2.52 fewer yards per pass when he’s on the field.
Consider that all of these numbers are from a small sample size, but it does give a look into what has and hasn’t worked for the Patriots through two games.
