FOXBORO — The Patriots finished 13-3 and head into the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a favorite to reach Super Bowl LII. The Pats finished with one of the top offenses in the NFL, finishing first in total yards and second in points per game (28.6).
Tom Brady is the frontrunner for MVP. He led the league in passing yards and total offense. He also finished second in completions and third in passing touchdowns and passer rating.
Despite his numbers, [...]
FOXBORO — The Patriots finished 13-3 and head into the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a favorite to reach Super Bowl LII. The Pats finished with one of the top offenses in the NFL, finishing first in total yards and second in points per game (28.6).
Tom Brady is the frontrunner for MVP. He led the league in passing yards and total offense. He also finished second in completions and third in passing touchdowns and passer rating.
Despite his numbers, there’s some uncertainty surrounding Brady and the Patriots offense heading into the playoffs. Over the final stretch, Brady had one of his worst finishes to a season in some time.
People might blame the shaky finish on Brady’s age or the drama surrounding his personal trainer Alex Guerrero, but all signs point to his health.
Fortunately, for the Patriots, Brady seems to be trending upward in that department.
“I'm hoping next week I'll feel just great and be 100 percent ready to go," Brady said. "I’m excited about that.”
Brady appeared on the injury report with an Achilles injury for the first time in Week 12. In the first 10 games, Brady threw for 300-plus yards six times. After the Achilles injury, Brady didn't have one 300-yard game in the final six games.
Despite leading the NFL in passing yards, Brady had 1,430 yards in the final six games. That was the ninth-most in the NFL behind Philip Rivers, Matthew Stafford, Ben Roethlisberger, Blake Bortles, Jameis Winston, Jimmy Garoppolo, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan.
The dip in performance after the Oakland game, which was Brady’s last 300-yard game, would also suggest that the Achilles injury was a factor. Brady missed five practices over the final six weeks. He also appeared most recently on the injury report with a left shoulder ailment.
Over the final six games Brady had only Brandin Cooks, Dion Lewis, Dwayne Allen and Phillip Dorsett available. Rob Gronkowski missed one game, Rex Burkhead two, Chris Hogan five and James White two.
Factor in that Brady was also playing without Malcolm Mitchell and Julian Edelman and you see why he looked frustrated on certain plays. The Patriots could get back Hogan, Mitchell, Burkhead and White for the playoffs, which should help.
Over the final two weeks, it was also notable that the Patriots were geared toward the ground game. In the last two games, Lewis carried the ball 50 times. That's the most a Patriots running back has carried the ball in the final two weeks in Brady's career and the most in team history (Craig James had 49 carries in 1984).
Despite the lower yardage total and dip in numbers, the Patriots still managed to average 28 points and went 5-1 in the final six weeks. They scored 168 points, which was fifth in the NFL in that stretch.
It wasn’t always pretty, but even with Brady less than perfect the Patriots managed to find a way.
With Brady able to practice all week and the Patriots looking healthy, it looks like that trend will continue.
“We’ll see,” Brady said. “Not sure. I’d rather go out there and do it and not talk about it.”