NFL Playoffs 2020: Fatal flaw of all 12 playoff teams
Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots
It took until the final game of the regular season but the Tennessee Titans came through and punched their ticket to the playoffs. It didn’t look good early. After getting shut out by the Denver Broncos in Week 6, they had a 2-4 record. Then they put in Ryan Tannehill in place of Marcus Mariota and things changed. The offense averaged 30.4 points per game and went 7-3.
The New England Patriots started out the season hot. They won their first eight games and 10 of their first 11. Then it went downhill from there. The offense struggled and they went 2-3 in their final five games. They lost to the 4-11 Miami Dolphins in the final game that cost them a first-round bye in the playoffs. They hope they can reset and make another Super Bowl run.
Titans’ fatal flaw: Offensive line
Like the Texans, the Titans’ biggest flaw is their offensive line. As bad as the Texans’ line is, the Titans are worse. They gave up 56 sacks in the regular season. Only the Dolphins and the Carolina Panthers, each with 58 sacks allowed, finished worse.
Tannehill did a great job of compensating for the line. Despite constantly being harassed, he completed 70.3 percent of his passes and had 2,742 yards in his 10 games. He also had 22 touchdown passes to only six interceptions.
The Titans are already on a special run. If the offensive line can protect him better, that run can get them to the Super Bowl.
Patriots’ fatal flaw: Receivers cannot get open
The Patriots have had a great run during the past two decades. Usually, they depend on their offense to make big plays and get scores to win games. This season, however, they’ve depended on their No. 1 ranked defense to keep the scores down.
They averaged 26.3 points per game, but when you break it down, they averaged 31.25 points per game in the first eight games of the season. In the back eight games, they averaged 21.25 points per game, a full 10 points lower.
A big reason for that is that opposing defenses clamped down on the Patriots’ receivers. The loss of Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon, two receivers who are great at creating separation and extending defenses, and the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, arguably the best tight end in the history of the NFL, severely hurt Tom Brady‘s ability to hit the receivers and make big plays.
Brady’s only real dependable target is Julian Edelman. He finished the regular season with 1,117 receiving yards. Second on the team in yards was running back James White with 645 yards. The second-leading wide receiver on the team was Phillip Dorsett, who had just 397 yards.
Teams will zero in on Edelman in the playoffs. In the past, opposing defenses had to account for Gronkowski or another receiver which gave Edelman the opportunity to make plays. That won’t happen in these playoffs. The Patriots need another receiver and one of his tight ends to step up and attract some attention. If no one does, it could be a one-and-done for the Patriots.