PFF Super Bowl preview week continues with a look back at some of the plays that sent the Patriots on their way to Indianapolis as once we again we break out the Analysis Notebook, this time on the Patriots’ Super Bowl season.
After an early bump in the road against the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots coasted through the regular season to a 13-3 record and clinched homefield advantage as their rivals in Houston, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh stumbled during the stretch run.
Many doubted the Patriots’ credentials entering the postseason because they were so short of being battle-tested, but they showed their class once in the playoffs. The Patriots ended the rather unorthodox fairy tale of Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos before setting aside the Ravens last Sunday as New England’s much-maligned defense rose up and rescued their suddenly misfiring offense.
Other teams may have garnered more attention in the regular season, but when its counted most, the Patriots have been up to the task. Making key plays in key situations to take their fifth conference championship in eleven seasons. Here are three plays that helped bring them to this point.
Week 6 vs. Dallas | 4thQ, 0:27 | 2nd-and-4
The Situation:
The Patriots entered the game sporting a 4-1 record, having bounced back from a disappointing Week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In this game, the Patriots faced a very conservative and cagey Dallas Cowboy team looking to pick the Patriots off by suffocating their offense and limiting their possessions. It worked for almost 60 minutes, but the Patriots mounted a 10-play, two minute drive to finish the game, culminating in this play…
Outcome:
On a dig route to the back of the endzone, Aaron Hernandez gets inside of Mike Jenkins and is found by Tom Brady for the game-winning touchdown.
Why it worked:
The Patriots set up in a shotgun formation with two wide receivers to the right and their dynamic pairing of tight ends to the left. In spite of the ball being on the right hash, the Cowboys overload the short side of the field, where Deion Branch and Wes Welker are stacked inside the right numbers. Only four defenders are aligned to the offense's left side and one of those, DeMarcus Ware, rushes the quarterback.
Ware is part of a two-man rush, indicative of the conservative nature of Dallas’ gameplan, and when he takes off on a hard outside rush, left tackle Matt Light easily sees him deep past the back of the pocket and left guard Logan Mankins ensures he cannot turn back up into it. Left end Sean Lissemore gets nothing against the right side of the offensive line and, consequently, the three defenders in coverage to Brady’s left are in a bind; having to cover the tight end pairing of Rob Gronkowski and Hernandez with no pressure to hurry the throw.
The Cowboys choose to play man coverage on Hernandez (split wide left) with right cornerback Mike Jenkins while right side linebacker Sean Lee and free safety Gerald Sensabaugh take double coverage on Gronkowski, clearly identifying him as the key receiver. However, with no pressure on the play, all Gronkowski’s route does is clear out two defenders from the middle, opening up the end zone for Hernandez.
Jenkins has good coverage on Hernandez up the field, but as the Patriots’ versatile tight end breaks to the inside (rubbing past Gronkowski’s path), the Cowboy corner is left with no play on the ball. Despite a valiant attempt to dive under Hernandez’s route to break up the pass, the former Florida Gator is too strong on the play and boxes Jenkins out of a well-placed throw to cap off yet another vintage Brady-led Patriots comeback, this time featuring New England's new breed of tight end.
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Week 17 vs. Buffalo | 4thQ, 3:02 | 1st-and-10
The Situation:
Three things were on the agenda coming into Week 17 for the Patriots: 1. Retribution for a Week 3 defeat. 2. Get a victory to clinch homefield advantage. 3. Prove that this defense can play, that they can make key plays to see the Patriots through an AFC playoff bracket in which they would not be seen as favorites by many–even with homefield all the way through.
Facing a 21-0 first quarter deficit, the Patriots looked like they were ticking-off precisely none of those targets. This just proved as a wake-up call, and come the fourth quarter, the world was back to rights and Patriots had the all-important homefield advantage sealed. Any play late in the fourth would have no consequence for the result, but the Patriots made a play late in the fourth quarter that–with the world now preparing for the battle for the second seed between Baltimore and Pittsburgh–would make a statement about the Patriots’ defense moving forward to the postseason.
Outcome:
Sterling Moore drives on a speed out by David Nelson, intercepting the pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick and capping-off the Patriots’ final regular season game with a pick-six.
Why it worked:
The Bills, who needed three scores in three minutes to send this game to overtime, were starting at their own 20-yard-line after another Brady-to-Gronkowski touchdown. This game was over. Here the Patriots made a statement, though. They had the players on defense–and most importantly, in the secondary–to turn around their defensive fortunes and make key plays in the crunch. Sterling Moore took the starring role on this play as he featured in his first game since the Patriots’ close victory over arch-rival Indianapolis back in Week 13. Moore took two interceptions in this game, either one of which could be highlighted as a foreboding of things to come.
The Patriots send a four-man rush on this play and get no pressure, though left defensive end Mark Anderson is trying to turn the corner on right tackle Erik Pears. Ryan Fitzpatrick thinks that he has a quick throw to a speed-out from the right slot on the play with the Patriots playing off to protect the lead, but Moore gets aggressive looking to make a play.
Moore knows he has deep help so he can afford to take a gamble and does just that, driving on the route by the right slot receiver, David Nelson, to make a play on the ball. If he misses, the Patriots have given up an inconsequential first down, however, in a foretelling of things to come, Moore makes the play late in the fourth quarter. Snagging the pass and taking it back for the score, Moore offers a glimpse of clutch play yet to come.
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AFC Championship Game vs. Baltimore | 4thQ, 3:36 | 3rd-and-3
The Situation:
The Patriots' play was all about reaching this point and closing the game out in the crunch, but the wheels appeared to be coming off as the Baltimore Ravens mounted their second attempt at a game tying/winning drive. The Patriots’ defense had already made one telling play to halt Baltimore’s momentum with a Brandon Spikes interception of Joe Flacco, but the Ravens came back looking for another chance and got deeper into Patriots’ territory. On third down just outside the Ravens and Patriots had a choice and faced the pivotal play of the game to this point. The Ravens were on the edge of Billy Cundiff’s comfortable field goal range and were left with the conundrum of whether to go for the jugular or settle for the tie, falling into their old habits. The Patriots had only one choice, a big defensive play.
Outcome:
Vince Wilfork beats Ben Grubbs to the inside and tackles Ray Rice in the backfield for a 3-yard loss, taking the Ravens out of comfortable field goal range for Billy Cundiff and maintaining the Patriots’ lead.
Why it worked:
From the early stages of the game, the Patriots had been controlling the line of scrimmage; taking away the Baltimore running game and forcing them to the air, until the fourth quarter. Both Ray Rice and Ricky Williams had picked up yards on the ground in the Ravens’ two long drives and they would look to go to the well once again for a crucial third-down pick-up; hoping to eat the clock and ensure they had the last possession, leaving no time for another fabled Tom Brady comeback.
In this short yardage situation, the Patriots stacked the middle in spite of the shotgun formation Baltimore presented and were simply too much for the Ravens to handle up front. Left guard Ben Grubbs had struggled with the Patriots’ defensive linemen all game and (courtesy of what Grubbs seems to suggest was a breakdown in assignments) he was left with the almost impossible task of getting a reach block on nose tackle Vince Wilfork barreling through the A-gap to his inside at Rice on the shotgun draw. Center Matt Birk looks to down block, filling the shoes of RG Marshal Yanda who has pulled to the left on the play, leaving Grubbs one-on-one with Wilfork.
Grubbs attempts to hold Wilfork at the line, but is unable to gain leverage and Wilfork piles into the backfield to snag Rice for the 3-yard loss. This play didn’t prove decisive, but it did take away Baltimore's margin for error. The Ravens were dumped out of Cundiff’s field goal range and they showed a lack of confidence in him that was later vindicated. Though it didn't end the game, it was just another example of the Patriots’ defense delivering in the clutch.
More of the same this Sunday?
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