New England Patriots: 3 Lessons learned from Super Bowl LV
As the New England Patriots watched Super Bowl LV from home, here are three lessons the team could take away from the game in Tampa Bay.
Just two seasons ago, the New England Patriots were taking the field in the Super Bowl to try and claim a league crown yet again. After taking down the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, the Patriots have dropped off dramatically just a few short years later.
With changes in faces taking place throughout the team, New England failed to reach the playoffs in 2020 and as a result ended up watching The Big Game from home after being one of those teams two years ago. All while watching a familiar face come out on top yet again.
Last weekend, former Patriots legend Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV to keep Kansas City from repeating as champions get back on top of the NFL world.
With a win in the game, Brady also managed to win his first Super Bowl ring outside of New England, winning his mind-blowing seventh championship in 10 appearances in the game.
On multiple levels, there were plenty of reasons for Patriots fans and the organization to tune into the game on Sunday, from watching an old friend take the field to try and win another ring to trying to pick things from each team to incorporate into the 2021 New England squad.
With the season officially over with and the Super Bowl now in the books, let’s take a look back at Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay and pick out three lessons the Patriots could take away from the contest between the Buccaneers and Chiefs.
3. Dual-threat backfield is still a key factor offensively
The first thing that was apparent on both sidelines during The Big Game was the factor each teams running game played in the overall scheme of things offensively.
Of course, both Tampa Bay and Kansas City feature a few of the top passing offenses in the entire NFL. Those units have played a huge role in the team throughout the regular season and in the playoffs and is one of the reasons why both teams managed to reach Super Bowl LV.
As a result of having two talented passing games offensively, the opposing defenses on the other side of the line of scrimmage focused primarily on limiting that aspect of both the Buccaneers and Chiefs, which resulted in the running game playing perhaps a larger role than expected in the game. And not only on the ground but through the air in the passing game as well.
For Tampa Bay, it finished with a total of 33 carries for 145 yards and one touchdown, averaging 4.4 yards per carry on the ground. Leonard Fournette led the way with 16 rushes for 89 yards and one touchdown, but he also added four catches for 46 yards through the air also.
For Kansas City, it finished the game with 17 carries for 107 yards and an average of 6.3 yards per rush attempt. Clyde Edwards-Helaire tallied nine rushes for 64 yards, adding two catches for 23 yards through the air.
The reason those are key aspects to point out is the fact that New England features one of the more dominant running games and duel threat capable units in the entire NFL. That aspect of a team’s offensive group was on display throughout the Super Bowl on each side of two talented offenses, which should give the Patriots hope as being able to lean on that aspect to the team once again in 2021.