Despite Win, Patriots Offense Must Play Better to Meet Playoff Expectations

For nearly two months from early October to late November, the New England Patriots offense methodically and meticulously picked apart its opponents. The team scored 34 points or more in six of seven games and averaged 39.6 points per game in that time.

Typically, the Patriots find their rhythm late in the season and play their best football in the months of November and December.

This year, however, the offense is hitting a lull as we hit the home stretch to the playoffs.

A big play in the fourth quarter, coupled with some magnificent work by the defense, was enough to lift the Patriots to a 23-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

They were down 14-3 at one point but trailed by only one point at halftime—a miracle when you consider the two first-half turnovers—a fumble by wide receiver Brandon LaFell and an interception by quarterback Tom Brady—and the team's continued struggles in the red zone (1-for-4).

Weeks	5-12 (7 games)	13-14
Points/game	39.6	22
Yards/game	423	358.5
3rd down conversions	49/97 (50.5%)	11/26 (42.3%)
Red zone scoring %	24/34 (70.6%)	4/7 (57.1%)

It helps when you have a future Hall of Fame quarterback throwing the ball, an elite talent and freakish athlete at tight end, and a pair of wide receivers who are good complements to both the quarterback and the tight end.

The offensive line, however, will have to play better in order for the team to reach its lofty playoff aspirations.

Once again, Brady was under fire far too often. He was sacked once, hit five times and was even a victim of a sack-fumble that was recovered by New England.

The struggles up front kept the Patriots from moving the ball down the field. They went three-and-out on three straight drives to start the second half, and punter Ryan Allen had five punts, tied for the second-most he's had in a game all season.

It wasn't just the passing game that struggled as a result of the poor blocks, which at times more closely resembled a revolving door or a turnstile than a blocking unit.

The Patriots only picked up 87 rushing yards on 3.1 yards per carry against a defense that ranked in the bottom five across the board against the run.

One promising sign: When the offensive line was playing well, the offense found ways to put points on the board. LeGarrette Blount had some hard runs on which he built momentum, lowered his shoulder and drove through would-be tacklers like Steve McQueen driving through the streets of San Francisco.

The Patriots had only two touchdown drives. Gronkowski's first-half touchdown catch kept the Patriots in the game.

Edelman's second-half touchdown helped them put it away.

Gronkowski got to show us why he is considered such a dominant player at his position. Brady threw a back-shoulder pass to Gronkowski, who was running down the left sideline. The 6'6", 260-pound monster turned to his right—against the forward momentum of his body—to catch the pass over the head of Chargers cornerback Brandon Flowers.

Edelman, on the other hand, got to show us how his skills as a punt returner can translate to the wide receiver position, and vice versa, on a 69-yard catch-and-run.

"Great play," Brady said after the game. "It was a good opportunity for us to throw it. They were pretty heavy in the run, and I found a little spot to throw it. Jules made a great catch. We needed that type of play at that point in the game, and the defense took over from there."

Unless the Patriots offense picks up the pace, the team will have to hope its defense can continue to take over and provide breathing room for the struggling offense.

The defense was the only thing that gave the Patriots any hope of winning last week against the Green Bay Packers. It held the Packers without a touchdown on four trips to the red zone. If those had all ended in touchdowns instead of field goals, the Packers would have won 42-21 instead of 26-21.

The Patriots defense has been red-hot lately, but it may not play that well every week. The offense has to be ready.

"There's gonna be times when we need the offense to score 40 or more points," nose tackle Vince Wilfork said on WBZ's Patriots 5th Quarter. "I know we're capable of doing that. We kind of scratch each other's backs."

The Patriots got the job done in San Diego, but 23 points won't cut it every week. The offense made life easy for the defense for weeks, but now, the defense is picking up the slack. 

If the Patriots can play their best on both sides of the ball, they could be tough to stop.

We've seen them put it together, but they have to get back to that level of play soon with the playoffs right around the corner.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand or via team news release.

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