We are down to the Final Four, NFL style.
It’s quite a field that remains in running to reach Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona. There’s no franchise looking for its first league championship and all of these clubs have been to the Super Bowl once since 2009.
So who gets back in 2014? We have been giving you the good news and bad news for each of the remaining contenders, with their chances as well.
To date, we have previewed the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Indianapolis Colts.
Last but not least, we have our thoughts on the New England Patriots.
The Good News:
This is certainly old hat for head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, who are in the AFC Championship Game for the ninth time in 14 seasons dating back to 2001.
The 15-year signal-caller and his team have come a long way since that humbling Week 4 loss at Arrowhead Stadium (41-14). And the impressive numbers bear that out.
Including last week’s comeback win over the visiting Ravens (New England twice rallied from 14-point deficits), the Patriots are 11-2 in their last 13 contests. In those games, Brady has thrown exactly four times as many touchdown passes (32) as interceptions (8). During the team’s 2-2 start, the Pro Bowl quarterback threw only four touchdown passes, committed five turnovers (2 interceptions, 3 lost fumbles) and sacked nine times.
The last number may be the most significant of all. In the team’s last 13 games, Brady has been sacked only 14 times as a once-troubled offensive line has emerged as a problem for opposing defenses.
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And the fact that the Patriots’ ground attack can be just as dangerous as its passing game does not bode well for any team they are facing these days.
The Bad News:
We are not going to jump the gun but one of the more disappointing aspects of last week’s Divisional Playoffs was the performance of the New England defense.
A unit that allowed a respectable 344.1 yards per game of total offense during the regular season (13th-best in the NFL) allowed a whopping 428 total yards and 31 points in last week’s tilt with the Ravens. It was the most points allowed by Belichick’s club since that aforementioned loss to the Chiefs and it marked only the fifth time in 17 games in 2014 (including playoffs) that New England allowed at least 400 yards of total offense this season.
And while the Patriots did total a very-tidy 40 sacks during the regular season, Belichick’s squad only managed 25 takeaways in 16 games, although the team came up with a pair of timely interceptions at the expense of Joe Flacco last Saturday.
In recent years, you could make the case that the New England defense has been the one factor that has prevented the team from capturing another Lombardi Trophy. And if this unit doesn’t play better against Andrew Luck and the Colts, that disappointment will continue for the Pats.
Synopsis:
The Patriots may be the most well-balanced team remaining in the Super Bowl tournament. They can beat you numerous ways on offense and their defense has once again re-gained that physical touch not seen in quite a long time. New England’s offensive line has also come a very long way since its early struggles and should get the better of an Indianapolis Colts’ front seven that still has a lot to prove. The Pats are far from perfect but they match up perfectly for another victory in this series.