When we last left off, our Patriots were sitting at 6-2, a game ahead of the Bills and Jets in the AFC East, looking to claim a division crown and a playoff spot, where we would look to retain our Lombardi Trophy. Let's see if the second half of Year 2 could prove just as fruitful as the first.
Second Half Results
We started the back slate of game with a couple very different results against AFC East opposition, as we crushed the Bills at home, 22-3, but lost to the Jets in a game that reached overtime, where Sam Darnold totaled 384 yards through the air and on the ground to beat us, 25-22. Back to back Thursday night games followed, and we crushed the 49ers, 33-14, before beating the Raiders by 9. A trip to Kansas City allowed the Chiefs a chance to get revenge for their AFC Championship loss last year, and they did just that, dominating en route to a 27-9 win. We stayed on the road and rebounded with an 8 point win in Tennessee, before losing another overtime game, this time to the Rams, a thriller that saw Jared Goff almost choke the game away by throwing a pick to our Devin McCourty, before a N'Keal Harry fumble set them up for a game-winning field goal. That bitter defeat also got Los Angeles some revenge after consecutive Super Bowl losses to us in recent years, but they're far out of the playoff picture, so they won't be able to beat us in a game that matters anytime soon. We finished out the year with an 11 point win at home against the Dolphins, giving us a final record of 11-5, which was good enough to claim the AFC East crown, with the Jets finishing at 9-7.
Final Stat Leaders
Passing Yards
Jacoby Brissett (4,108)
Passing Touchdowns
Jacoby Brissett (26)
Interceptions
Jacoby Brissett (8)
Rushing Yards
Sony Michel (1,001, 4.4 per carry)
Rushing Touchdowns
Sony Michel (7)
Receptions
N'Keal Harry (75)
Receiving Yards
N'Keal Harry (911)
Receiving Touchdowns
Cameron Meredith (7)
Tackles
Kyle Van Noy (125)
Tackles For Loss
Kyle Van Noy, Dont'a Hightower, Lawrence Guy (16)
Sacks
Lawrence Guy (15)
Interceptions
Jason McCourty, Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore (3)
Pass Deflections
Stephon Gilmore (10)
Forced Fumbles
Jamie Collins (2)
Analysis
Overall, these 8 games didn't go as well for us as the first 8, though we still finished with excellent numbers. Our offense gained the 3rd most yards and scored the 2nd most points, while our defense allowed the 3rd least yards and 3rd least points. We had 48 sacks, 2nd most in the NFL, and tied with the Buccaneers for the most interceptions, at a hefty 17. On the offensive side of the ball, Jacoby Brissett had an excellent year, even with rookie Donell Rowland breathing down his neck in practice, as Brissett minimized mistakes and spread the ball around between multiple weapons. On defense, Lawrence Guy was a revelation this year, Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy remain great playmakers, and our secondary really was fantastic outside of just picking off passes. We did suffer two high-profile injuries, with wide receiver Phillip Dorsett likely to miss the entire playoffs, while safety Patrick Chung is guaranteed to be out for the Wild Card Round.
Our Playoff Fate
Speaking of the Wild Card Round, we're in it again this year, as being division winners wasn't enough to get us a bye. We'll host the 10-6 Denver Broncos, whom we comprehensively beat in Week 9 of the season, and hopefully there will be more to come up next.
What About Tom?
I'm sure there's going to be interest in how Tom Brady fared this year for the Detroit Lions, and I'm happy to report that it seems to have gone very well. The Lions won 10 games, and will travel to Carolina to start the playoffs. Brady threw for exactly 4,000 yards, and added 27 touchdown and 7 picks, very similar numbers to what Jacoby Brissett had for us. You never know, if Brady gets hot in the postseason, there is the potential for him to face us in the Super Bowl, it's not anything close to impossible.
I'll see you up next time for a recap of our playoff journey, which hopefully won't be a short post. After that, it's on to the offseason, where we welcome in another round of promising youngsters.
- Henry
No comments:
Post a Comment