Commentary and stats to consider before making your Super Bowl pick.
2018 Statistics
(rankings are 2018 regular-season only)
Total offense: Fifth (393.4 yards per game)
Rush offense: Fifth (127.3 yards per game)
Pass offense: Eighth (266.1 yards per game)
Scoring offense: Fourth (27.3 points per game, 436 points)
Total defense: 21st (359.1 yards per game allowed)
Rush defense: 11th (112.7 yards per game allowed)
Pass defense: 22nd (246.4 yards per game allowed)
Scoring defense: Seventh (20.3 points per game allowed, 325 points)
Dropped passes: 23 (sixth-most)
Penalties: 93 penalties (third-fewest), 744 yards (second-fewest)
Turnover ratio: Plus-10 (fifth-best) with 18 defensive interceptions (T-3rd most with Los Angeles Rams)
About the Patriots
–The Patriots were the last of the eight original American Football League franchises to be awarded when the league launched play in 1960. Owner Billy Sullivan and Sullivan Brothers Printers took stewardship of the team, which played in the AFL until the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. During the ’60s, the team played in several different venues: Nickerson Field (Boston University), Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium (Boston College) before moving to the new Foxboro Stadium in 1970 and relocating to its current home, Gillette Stadium, in 2002. The team changed its name from the Boston Patriots to the New England Patriots in 1971.
–In the franchise’s AFL era, the Patriots made the championship game only once, losing to the San Diego Chargers, 51-10, in 1963. The team wouldn’t play in the postseason again for another 13 years. But in 59 seasons, New England has racked up a total of 26 playoff appearances (tied with Chicago for sixth-most), including 21 AFC East Division titles–a current streak of ten straight and 18 in the last 23 years–and five wild-card berths.
—New England is 11-4 in AFC title games, giving it an NFL-record 11 Super Bowl appearances. The five Super Bowl titles tie the team with Dallas and San Francisco for second-most–one behind Pittsburgh’s six. On the flip side, the Patriots’ five losses equal Denver’s record for the most. This year, New England became only the second team to advance to three straight Super Bowls, only one shy of Buffalo’s record of four consecutive appearances (1990-93 in Super Bowls 25-28).
–The AFC champion is the designated visiting team for an odd-numbered Super Bowl. That means the Patriots will likely occupy the near-side bench (as viewed from the main TV camera), and their team logo will appear in the right-side end zone. As the visitors, the Patriots will wear their usual white road jerseys with dark blue pants. As the designated home team, Los Angeles has chosen to wear its throwback blue-and-gold 1970s-style jerseys.
–This season, the Patriots were not as dominating as they have been in previous years. They stumbled out to a 1-2 start and then went through a 2-3 stretch in late November and early December. But they scored 27 or more points in a game nine times and allowed 17 or fewer points on eight occasions. Their biggest point advantages came in the second (157-81) and fourth (117-84) quarters.
–New England was one of the league’s least-penalized teams. But seven Pats committed at least five penalties each. As a team, the Patriots committed 18 false starts, held offensively 18 times, and held defensively 13 times. But only three flags were thrown for offensive pass interference and (not insignificantly) only five flags were thrown for defensive pass interference. The team had an unusually large dropped-pass total. Julian Edelman, who led the way with eight, tied for the league lead in that category.
–The Patriots held the ball for a per-game possession average of 31:05, the league’s seventh-best mark. In the Red Zone and on third-down plays, New England was, for the most part, a middle-of-the-pack team, ranking 15th in red-zone offense, 16th in red-zone defense, 13th in third-down offense and 16th in third-down defense. New England scored a modest total of 18 rushing touchdowns but allowed only seven on the ground. It scored 29 through the air with eight different players, but the Pats’ defense also allowed the same number.
–Head coach Bill Belichick (289-134 career record) is in his 44th year as an NFL coach and 19th with the Patriots. He is the longest-serving current head coach as the 15th head coach in team history. Belichick has coached his team to 18 straight winning seasons, breaking Tom Landry’s record for the longest such streak with one team (16). He is also one of only four coaches to have five or more titles in league history, joining George Halas, Curley Lambeau, and Vince Lombardi. Belichick’s win total is third-most all-time, and he will be coaching in his 12th Super Bowl as either a head or assistant coach. His overall win percentage of .683 is the league’s all-time best. Belichick grew up mostly in Annapolis, where his father, Steve, was a longtime Navy assistant coach, and his first NFL job was as a low-level assistant with the Baltimore Colts.
–Quarterback Tom Brady will start his ninth Super Bowl–more than any other player–and he’ll attempt to win a record sixth ring, which would break a record he now shares with Charles Haley (five each). Brady is the oldest quarterback to start the big game (41), and yet he played all 16 regular-season games for the 15th time in his 19 seasons. He is a 14-time Pro Bowl selectee and a three-time first-team All-Pro. His numbers were a bit down from their usual heights, but he still completed 65.8 percent of his passes this season with 29 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 97.7 passer rating, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. Brady’s 29 postseason wins are an NFL record, as is his 16 straight completions in Super Bowl 46.
–Besides the game being Brady’s ninth Super Bowl, kicker Stephen Gostkowski will appear in his sixth, tying Denver’s Mike Lodish for the second-most appearances. Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty, and Matthew Slater will be on the field for their fifth Super Bowl. Six other Patriots will play in their fourth Super Bowl. In all, 25 Patriots have played in two or more big games. Only one Patriot has played in a Super Bowl for another team–special teamer/linebacker Albert McClellan, who played in Super Bowl 47 for Baltimore.
–When a running back gains over 100 yards, the Patriots are 11-0 under Brady and Belichick in postseason play. They used to rely on dual-threat back James White on both run and pass plays, but now–thanks to the drafting of Georgia product Sony Michel–they now have a workhorse back. Michel led the team with 931 yards, a 4.5-yard average, and six touchdowns. He has a grind-it-out style with no run longer than 34 yards all season. White carried the ball about 100 times and scored five times. Receiver Cordarelle Patterson runs the occasional end-around and will also line up in the backfield. He had 42 carries. Former Bengals running back Rex Burkhead, who scored the overtime game-winner in the AFC title game, carried the ball 57 times.
–Through the air, White led the Patriots with 87 regular-season receptions, averaging 8.6 yards per catch. He also scored a team-high seven receiving touchdowns and had 19 catches in the two postseason games. Julian Edelman was next with 74 catches, an 11.5-yard average, and six scores. Former lacrosse player Chris Hogan averaged over 15 yards per reception with three touchdowns. Patterson and Phillip Dorsett also scored three times each. The tight end is veteran Rob Gronkowski, who hauled in 47 passes and scored three times, averaging 14.5 yards per catch.
–The Patriots’ offensive line allowed 21 sacks, the league’s third-fewest behind Indianapolis (18) and New Orleans (20). The Pats’ are the only team that hasn’t allowed a post-season sack. Kansas City recorded just one hit on Brady during the AFC title game. Right tackle Marcus Cannon is in his eighth season, but the rest of the line is made up of third- and fourth-year players. Left guard Joe Thuney is in his third year and left tackle Trent Brown, center David Andrews, and right guard Shaquille Mason are all playing their fourth seasons in the league.
–The Pats’ depth chart would suggest a base 4-3 front. But it is often disguised with a variety of fronts and formations with sometimes two, one, or no players with their hands down in the dirt. Among the principles, ex-Ravens reserve Lawrence Guy leads the interior with 59 tackles with end Trey Flowers contributing 57 and a team-high 7.5 quarterback sacks. Deatrich Wise gets good pressure from the line (4.5 sacks), while backup Adam Butler has three sacks and Adrian Clayborn has contributed 2.5.
–Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, a former Detroit Lions second-round pick from BYU had perhaps his best of his three seasons as a Patriot. He led the team with 92 total tackles and contributed 3.5 sacks. Middle linebacker Elandon Roberts was fifth on the team with 65.
—On the opposite side is Dont’a Hightower, a seven-year veteran, who has a habit of making super-big plays at super-big times. In Super Bowl 51, he helped fuel New England’s come-from-behind rally with a strip-sack of Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan. Two years earlier, he tackled Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch at the goal line one play before teammate Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl 49-clinching interception.
–Patriot safeties Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty are a respective second and third on the team in tackles with 84 and 82. Chung has 54 career pass breakups, while McCourty has 80. McCourty’s twin brother, Jason, is one of the team’s starting corners, along with Pro Bowl honoree Stephon Gilmore. Jason McCourty recorded 70 tackles and ten pass breakups, giving him double-digit breakups in eight of his ten NFL seasons. For his part, Gilmore, a Buffalo Bills 2012 first-round pick, recorded 40 tackles, broke up a career-high 20 passes, and has 91 career deflections. Former Maryland corner JC Jackson is the nickel, but he has five penalties to go along with his 24 tackles and three interceptions. Duron Harmon leads a deep secondary with four pickoffs, while Jonathan Jones has three.
–Cordarrelle Patterson handles the Patriots’ kick-return duties. He performed the same role with the Minnesota Vikings, who originally drafted him–and he was one of the league’s best with a 28.8-yard average and a 95-yard touchdown to his credit this season. Receiver Julian Edelman is the main punt returner, but he has called for 11 fair catches this year, running back 20 punts for a mere seven-yard average, with no return longer than 25 yards. The Pats’ punt-coverage team is average, allowing returns at a 10.6-yard rate, while the kick-coverage team is yielding just under 25 yards per runback.
—Placekicker Stephen Gostkowski, a 2006 fourth-round pick, is the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history (87.4 percent on field-goal tries). He made 27 of 32 field goals this year, scoring 130 points and missing one conversion. Three of his field-goal misses were from beyond 50 yards. Earlier in his career, his streak of 479 consecutive PATs broke former Raven Matt Stover’s league record.
–Ryan Allen has been the Patriots’ punter since winning two Ray Guy awards at Louisiana Tech and signing as a 2013 undrafted free agent. He originally enrolled at Oregon State, but languished behind Johnny Hekker, who’s ironically now the Los Angeles Rams’ punter, and transferred. He had just five touchbacks in 64 punts this year, putting 21 inside the opponents’ 20-yard line while grossing 45.1 yards per punt and netting 39.5. His teammates have blocked two opponents’ punts this year.
