Patriots Winning in All Three Phases of the Game

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's first major position in the NFL was as an assistant special teams coach for the Detroit Lions. He later took on the positions of tight ends and receivers coach before finding his niche on the defensive side of the ball with the New York Giants.

Those early experiences, however, seemed to have left a large impression on Belichick as coach and general manager. As the Patriots have shown in the 2014 NFL season, they place equal emphasis on all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. The way they are scoring seems to bear this out.

Offense 

It is certainly not a shock that a Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels team is putting a lot of points on the scoreboard. The Patriots lead the league in scoring through Week 15, averaging 31.6 points per game.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

New England has scored 45 touchdowns this season. Thirty-three have come via the pass, while 12 have come on the ground. A similar split can be seen moving the ball, with only 28 percent of the Patriots' yards coming via the run.

Preventing the other team from getting extra scoring chances has also been a hallmark of the Patriots offense. They've only turned the ball over nine times. Brady has thrown eight interceptions, while Brandon LaFell has the lone lost fumble. 

Their conscientious ball-handling has made things much easier on their defensive brethren.

Defense

The Patriots defense hasn't been so kind. While it hasn't scored any points of its own, Brady's offense has benefited countless times from short fields set up by turnovers. New England's defense has logged a total of 20 turnovers, including 15 interceptions and five recovered fumbles.

According to Football Outsiders, the Patriots offense starts on the 30-yard line on average. Their opponents, however, start on the 25-yard line. A five-yard difference on each drive compounded over an entire season makes an incredible difference in field position and scoring opportunities. Giving up only 20 points per game—eighth in the league—can't happen without field position.

The defense isn't the only group that has impacted the field-position game, however.

Special Teams

In addition to 92 receptions and 972 yards, Julian Edelman has been a force on special teams. His punt-return average of 12.3 has been key in setting up the offense for success. He also did the job himself once this season, returning a punt 84 yards for a touchdown.

Stephen Gostkowski has done his fair share of scoring this season as well, hitting 31 of 33 field goals thus far. Opponents are only averaging 20.9 yards per return off his kickoffs. Matthew Slater's coverage—on punts as well—has been instrumental in keeping that number low.

The biggest plays, however, have been reserved for the kick- and punt-block teams. Chandler Jones, Chris Jones and Jamie Collins have all blocked field goals—two were returned for scores—while Brandon Bolden blocked a punt.

Each brought huge momentum swings in the game and drastically changed the expected outcome.

Complete Team

With all three phases able to step up and carry the team, the Patriots are proving to be a very resilient team. If Brady falters, the defense makes a play. If the defense gives up some yards, special teams is ready to flip field position. If special teams makes an error, Rob Gronkowski and company are ready to pick them up.

When playing the Patriots this year, you can't just beat Brady. You have to win two out of three phases of the game to have a chance.