Four Takeaways As Patriots Punch Ticket To Super Bowl LX
Can you believe it?
The New England Patriots are headed to Super Bowl LX.
New England punched its ticket with a hard-fought, oftentimes ugly, victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship— and are now on a collision course with the Seattle Seahawks.
I’ll have plenty to talk about over the coming weeks, but for now, let’s focus the main takeaways from the game that got them to the dance:
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
I’d love to take this thing in several different directions — interim defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr has been fabulous, defensive linemen Milton Williams and Christian Barmore are the best duo in the business, cornerback Christian Gonzalez has officially arrived —but the overwhelming thought coming out of that game is how little respect this unit gets.
The Patriots rattled off three straight playoff wins against teams that ranked first (Houston Texans; -0.13) and fifth (Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos; -0.09) in defensive expected points added during the regular season, and yet, they quite handedly outperformed those units with their own level of defensive dominance.
New England has allowed a grand total of 23 points across those three matchups, all while leading the tournament in takeaways (8), sacks (12) and pressures (95). It’s not quite the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ No-Name Defense, but we’re talking about guys named Leonard Taylor III, Cory Durden, Jack Gibbens and Jaylinn Hawkins making major contributions to a team that is one game away from winning the Super Bowl.
It’s only fair to give them their flowers.
OFFENSIVE SLOP
Uh-oh!
If we’re giving flowers to the defense, it’s time to start chucking coal in the direction of the offense — who finished with 206 total yards, converted only two first downs through the air and scored their only touchdown on the back of a turnover that landed them the ball inside the red zone.
I don’t know if this is controversial or not, back that isn’t going to fly in the Super Bowl.
Drake Maye’s legs were the difference, as he converted five first downs on the ground including the game-winning run that he didn’t tell anyone about before keeping it — so that’s good.
Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs struggled to create separation in the elements. Will Campbell was once again a liability as his unit allowed five sacks… again. Maye was off target on more than half of his throws — so that’s the bad.
It’ll look much better moving forward without the elements playing a factor, but there wasn’t much to inspire confidence in terms of overall execution.
NOT-SO SPECIAL TEAMS
Andy Borregales shouldn’t exactly be blamed for his 1-for-3 performance, as it’s a miracle he converted on the one he hit given the conditions — the entire third phase had quite an up-and-down game, however.
Bryce Baringer was objectively terrible, pinning just one of his eight punts inside the 20, while averaging a measly 37.9 yards per punt.
Brenden Schooler was awesome on the coverage units.
Marcus Jones just happened to have an unusually rough afternoon returning punts.
Leonard Taylor III got his hand on a game-tying field goal attempt.
Snip-snap! Snip-snap! Snip-snap!
Do you have any idea the toll that up-and-down special teams performances has on a person?!
LOOKING AHEAD
I already said that we’ll have plenty more to discuss with regard to Super Bowl LX, but let’s toss a few things out there to think about in the coming weeks.
Josh McDaniels’ track record doesn’t exactly point to dominance in the Super Bowl, but thinking back to his three victories while calling plays you can’t help but notice an incredible ability to adjust on the fly. It’s helpful when you have Tom Brady throwing the ball to Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, but give credit where it is due for a man who has three rings after being tied or trailing in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
Mike Vrabel is unlike any other person making their first Super Bowl appearance as a head coach, as he participated in four of them as a player and won three. Mike Macdonald has not only never been, but he’s never even sniffed the grand stage. Will it matter? Who knows, but something to chew on.
John Streicher is a name to know heading into the big game. Ernie Adams had some signature moments over the years, so perhaps we’ll eventually find out of one from his unofficial successor.
What will you have an eye on? Let us know in the comments!
