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New England Patriots look Super Bowl bound, as they clinch AFC East

By Aryan von Eicken

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The New England Patriots looked absolutely dominant in their win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Patriots are now only two wins away from getting home field advantage and the Nr.1 seed. If Denver loses next week against Cincinnati and the Patriots win, the Patriots could even rest their starters in week 17. While this could threaten the Patriots massive winning streak at home against AFC opponents, it would allow the Patriots to get three weeks of rest, before having to play another game. This of course is the best case scenario, but next week will be a difficult game in New York.

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The defense stared again last Sunday against Miami forcing two interceptions, putting constant pressure on Tannenhill and getting off the field on third down 81 % of the time. Chandler Jones looked very healthy coming back from injury, getting 1.5 sacks and adding 7 tackles to that. Jones seemed to be all over the field making big plays for the Patriots defense. It was good to see Dont’a Hightower back as well, as he played a very solid game. The key for this defense is to stay healthy, because outside of the cornerback position, the Patriots really don’t have too much depth. If they can stay healthy and continue to play like they have been over the past month, I can’t picture any AFC team beating the Patriots, especially not in New England.

The difference makers in this defense are the two new corners that the Patriots added. Revis and Browner have been one of the, if not the, best cornerback tandem in the NFL. Revis is playing as good as he used to in New York, and while Browner is penalized a lot, he does still shut down wide receivers very well. The Patriots have been able to take away most teams number one and two offensive weapons, but the third and fourth corners like Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler and Alfonzo Dennard must step up at shut down those third and fourth options. I still do question the heavy usage of Malcolm Butler, as he seems to get beat quite often, especially when you play him against wide receivers as talented as Mike Wallace. Still the Patriots do have a lot of work left, and a lot of ways to improve.

While the Patriots did win 41-13, the game could have went a lot worse for the Pats. The offense was struggling in the first half, and without the interception and the blocked field goal, the offense might have been shut out in the first half. So overall, they only played one good quarter on offense. Miami really did a great job tipping Brady’s passes away, and had very good coverage. If the Patriots would have had an offensive first half like this against a team like Denver, they probably would have lost the game. Brady missed some throws, like the wide open Rob Gronkowski downfield, and overall the Patriots offense did look to have some issues.

LeGarrette Blount has disappointed the last two games, as he looked extremely sluggish and seems to be unable to get much yardage. This was also noticed by Bill Belichick, which is why Jonas Gray started getting more touches. I have said all along, Jonas Gray didn’t lose his touches because he overslept, but he lost them because Blount was playing better. Gray on Sunday showed some impressive burst, and I hope will be featured this upcoming Sunday.

The Patriots must also get Rob Gronkowski more involved. Gronk only had three catches on Sunday, and while he ended up only four yards short of 100 yards, he wasn’t a big enough part of the offense. Julian Edelman has really been the best and most consistent offensive player, outside of Tom Brady, as he seems to always get the ball on third downs. He did have a big drop, but it can happen to the best. I would like to see a complete game of great offense by the Patriots, but other than that, this team looks like the best team in the NFL. You just have to watch Tom Brady’s 17 yard run, and you know how badly he wants his fourth ring.

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