Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots are back in the win column, and for the first time in a calendar year do not own a losing record. Now sitting at 1-1 after Sunday’s 33-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins, they have started trending up after what was a disappointing season opener.
Of course, it it far too early to tell what kind of team the Patriots are developing into and whether or not they will be able to push for a playoff spot when all is said and done. What we do know, is that there are several promising areas to build on and a lot of weaknesses and issues still left to be addressed.
Add all of that up, and you get a team that is a middle-of-the pack squad across the board and accordingly ranked 18th in net points (-1) on the season.
The graphic above illustrates where the Patriots lie relative to the other 31 teams in the NFL. Offensively, they are looking quite solid so far and seemingly taking a step forward after their underwhelming 2024 campaign. The defense, on the other hand, has had its problems during the early parts of the season.
A closer look at both areas, plus a split into the run and pass games, illustrates this.
For a more detailed explanation of the numbers presented in this breakdown, please click here.
With two games in the books, the Patriots are one of the NFL’s most average offenses. Whether it is points, yards or the various efficiency metrics, the unit of coordinator Josh McDaniels is not far removed from the middle of the league in any category.
The only one that truly stands out is the number of giveaways, which has New England tied for seventh in the league. However, there is a caveat: based on turnover percentage — i.e. the rate of drives ending in turnovers — the team is only ranked 19th. Then again, the sample size is not necessarily an accurate predictor of future success or failure in any of those categories.
Still, as noted above, some early trends can be seen. And one of them is the passing offense looking fairly decent.
As can be seen, the team’s passing attack is in the top third int the NFL in both volume and efficiency. It goes without saying that Drake Maye’s career performance against the Dolphins in Week 2 — when he set several new career marks while completing 83 percent of his passes for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns — plays a big part in that. The goal will be to build on that performance, while simultaneously also improving in the pass protection department.
If the Patriots can do that, they seemingly have the foundation in place to take another step forward. Look no further than the numbers posted by their starting QB.
Whether you look at volume or efficiency stats, Drake Maye is a top third quarterback in the NFL through two games. Despite his...
