What Went Down In Super Bowl LIII
Maybe cover Edelman.
Neil, that play imbalance a great stat. More important even is runs plus completions for minus allowed. The Patriots are 16-to-6, or plus-10. Average team has about 48 “move plays,” as stat pioneer Bud Goode called them, per game. In their first two playoff games, the Patriots were PLUS-41.5. Meaning 41.5 more runs plus completions PER GAME than their opponents.
Are These Pats Up To The Team’s Usual Standards?
Although it’s hard to find fault with any team who makes the Super Bowl, this season’s Patriots haven’t always looked quite as dominant as they usually do, at least on paper. During the regular season, they posted their third-worst point differential (+111) in any of their Super Bowl seasons since 2001, and they tied for their fewest wins (11) in that same span. The Pats’ roster also earned fewer individual accolades than in almost any of their other Super Bowl campaigns:
Despite all this, Vegas had still installed the Pats as 2½-point favorites, so don’t even think about using this to fuel that “underdog” narrative, Tom. But it is worth remembering that this version of the Patriots boasts slightly less star power than we’re used to seeing on the Super Bowl stage.