Super Bowl 54: 5 NFL teams that missed prime opportunity to make Big Game
5. New England Patriots (12-4) – Lost in Wild Card Round
Like the 49ers, the New England Patriots started the season out 8-0. Early on in the season, the defense played at a historic pace. During that eight-game stretch, the Patriots outscored their opponents 250-61. That’s an average score of 31-7 each game.
As the Patriots progressed through the season, there were chinks in their armor that they failed to fix. During the offseason, they lost arguably the best tight end in the history of the NFL, Rob Gronkowski. With his size, route-running, and catching ability, he was quarterback Tom Brady‘s security blanket. If he couldn’t find an open receiver, he could go to Gronk and many times he’d come through and make a big catch.
With Gronkowski’s retirement, that security blanket was pulled from Brady. Who did the front office tap to help Brady? Ben Watson and Matt LaCosse.
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Watson and LaCosse combined for 43 catches for 304 yards and one touchdown. Compare that to Gronkowski’s final season’s numbers: 47 catches for 682 yards and 3 touchdowns. The lack of effective tight end play would come back to haunt the Patriots.
The Patriots went out and signed wide receiver Antonio Brown to help the passing game and he had a good start, making four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown without having much practice time. That gave the Patriots high hopes for the offense. Having Brown and Julian Edelman would give Brady options.
That turned out to be the only game Brown played, though. His offseason antics caused New England to cut him. As a result, the wide receiver corps suffered. Edelman became the only reliable receiver and when opposing defenders covered him Brady had trouble finding any other receiver.
After averaging 275 yards per game in the first eight games, Brady averaged 220 yards per game in the final eight games. In the Wild Card game against the Titans, Brady threw for just 209 yards.
In the key drive of the first half, the Pats had the ball inside the Titans’ five. They had no confidence in their receivers getting open so they ran the ball three times. The Titans were ready for it and shut New England down. The Patriots settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown. Instead of a 17-7 lead, they led just 13-7.
The Titans ended up getting a touchdown before the half and had the lead 14-13. They held it until late in the game when Brady threw a pick-six, giving the Titans a 20-13 win.
Additionally, the Patriots had a chance to have a first-round bye with a win against the lowly Miami Dolphins but they lost the game, forcing them to play in the opening round. Now it seems like the dynasty is over as Brady is a free agent.