Biggest Obstacles Patriots Face in Pursuit of Super Bowl Title This Season
Ever since the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era began, the New England Patriots have had only one goal each and every season—to win a Super Bowl. While winning a division title or making a deep playoff run might be seen as a win for other franchises, it's business as usual for the Patriots.
Just consider that New England has won eight consecutive AFC East titles and has been to the AFC title game six consecutive times.
Anything short of a Super Bowl berth will be seen as a disappointment for the Patriots in 2017. Fortunately, the team is in a good position to get back to the big one. The Patriots have an AFC-best record of 8-2—tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers—and are only now hitting their stride.
Getting to and winning a Super Bowl won't be easy, though. It never is. There are several obstacles New England will have to overcome in order to do it. We're here to examine the biggest potential road bumps as the Patriots try to achieve their goal for the sixth time in franchise history.
The Pittsburgh Steelers
1 of 6
If the Patriots can get back to the AFC title game, they'll be in better position to advance if they're playing at home. The Steelers are a threat to that scenario. They share New England's 8-2 record and will host the Patriots in Week 15.
If the Steelers win the head-to-head matchup, they'll have a terrific chance of earning the AFC's No. 1 seed over New England. That could leave the Patriots traveling back to Heinz Field for a championship rematch.
The Steelers won't be easy for the Patriots to defeat. Their defense is a special unit up front and has enough creativity in the secondary to make things difficult on opposing quarterbacks. The defense is ranked second in points allowed—just 16.5 per game—and has already racked up 34 sacks this season. Because of New England's issues along the offensive line (more on that later), that's a problem.
The Pittsburgh offense is also dangerous. While it hasn't played up to its potential with consistency this season, guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Le'Veon Bell pose a threat to New England's defense. The Patriots pass rush leaves a lot to be desired (more on that later), and if Roethlisberger is given time in the pocket, he can pick apart almost any scheme.
The Jacksonville Jaguars
2 of 6
Few teams match up favorably with the Patriots this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars, however, do. Because of Jacksonville's championship-caliber defense, the Jaguars present a tougher challenge than teams like the Kansas City Chiefs—who have cooled off considerably since beating the Patriots—or even the Steelers.
Bleacher Report's Chris Simms believes the Jaguars are the biggest threat to New England in the entire conference.
"I'll stick to my belief that the Jaguars are the biggest threat to the New England Patriots in the AFC, Simms wrote. "It's not the Steelers. Jacksonville's defense is capable of winning a Super Bowl by itself."
The Jaguars defense is allowing just 14.1 points per game, first in the NFL. It has also racked up an impressive 40 sacks on the season. It matches up better with the Patriots than the Steelers defense because Pittsburgh relies heavily on zone coverage, which Brady has proved he can shred. The Jaguars have the cover corners needed to play man all game long against New England.
The Jaguars pass rush can force Brady into making mistakes, and Jacksonville's first-ranked rushing attack can help keep him off the field and out of rhythm. The Jaguars are built very similarly to the 2015 Denver Broncos, who managed to knock off New England in the AFC Championship Game.
Communication Breakdown
3 of 6
The Patriots defense has gotten better since New England's disastrous first month of the season. After giving up an average of 32 points per game over the first four weeks of the season, the Patriots defense has not given up more than 17 points in a game since.
That's tangible progress. However, it doesn't guarantee we won't see the biggest problem of the opening month—miscommunication in the secondary—rear its ugly head again at some point down the stretch. The Patriots had the league's top scoring defense last season—15.6 points per game allowed—but they were still burned by defensive confusion early in Super Bowl LI.
Returning miscommunication could hurt the Patriots against some of the more complex passing attacks they could face in the postseason. The Steelers and Chiefs are two primary examples as both like to incorporate unorthodox plays into their game plans.
New England's offense can match points with just about anyone as long as the defense isn't giving up easy big plays. That's exactly what happened in the season opener, in which the Patriots were bested by the Chiefs 42-27. New England cannot afford another defensive meltdown like that one en route to the Super Bowl. Miscommunication is the one thing that could allow it to happen.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
A Lackluster Pass Rush
4 of 6
While things have gotten better on the back end of New England's defense, the pass rush remains a lackluster unit. Last season, the Patriots defense produced just 34 sacks, which was tied for 16th in the league. This year's pass rush is even worse.
New England is tied for 26th in the NFL with 17 sacks. That puts the Patriots on pace for roughly 27 sacks on the season. That's a big problem.
Even if the Patriots secondary manages to keep playing smart and sound football, it's going to have a difficult time eliminating big plays if opposing quarterbacks have all day in the pocket. New England has to figure out a way to bring more pressure if it hopes to fluster elite passers in the postseason.
New England's Offensive Line
5 of 6
The Patriots offensive line has performed better since the bye week. The group gave up just one sack each against the vaunted Denver Broncos pass rush and the Oakland Raiders—despite being down a pair of starters.
"Those guys that stepped in there today, I thought came up huge," left tackle Nate Solder said after the Raiders game, per Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal.
For most of the season, though, New England's line has been a liability. It's surrendered 24 sacks already and has allowed Brady to be hurried and hit several more times. That could be a huge issue in the postseason against teams with potent pass rushes.
Let's remember that Brady is 40 years old and is the centerpiece of the entire team. He helped keep New England afloat during its early-season struggles and is the key to winning another Super Bowl. If he's forced out of a game or is less than 100 percent due to injury, the Patriots' championship hopes take a massive hit.
A Lack of Quarterback Depth
6 of 6
The reason why a Brady injury would be so significant is simple. The Patriots don't have much in the way of quarterback depth. If the Patriots still had Jimmy Garaoppolo, they'd probably feel better about their chances should Brady go down. Given the way Jacoby Brissett has played with the Indianapolis Colts this season, the Patriots might not feel so bad about their chances with him either.
Both Garoppolo and Brissett have been traded away, though, which leaves journeyman Brian Hoyer as New England's backup plan.
Now, Hoyer isn't the worst backup in the league. In fact, he's been a fairly decent starter in certain situations. He's completed just under 60 percent of his passes over the course of his career with nearly 10,000 yards passing, 48 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.
However, Hoyer doesn't bring the big-play ability of Brady or even Garoppolo or Brissett. He isn't going to scare a defense in the postseason, and he has a penchant for making one or two terrible decisions per game. The Patriots will be hoping they won't have to rely on him to win a Super Bowl, but if the situation arises, it will become a big obstacle.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
