Who Are New England Patriots' Most Important Players Down the Stretch?
The New England Patriots have really turned their season around after a disappointing first month. They've rattled off eight straight wins and have seen their defense allow an NFL-low 11.9 points per game since their last loss.
New England is in prime position to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but the mission hasn't been accomplished yet. New England still has three divisional matchups remaining and a date with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.
The Steelers currently have just two losses, just like New England.
The Patriots have to finish the season strong if they want to hold home-field advantage throughout the postseason. So who can (and must) the Patriots rely on over the final month of the season? That's exactly what we're here to examine.
These are the most important players for the rest of 2017.
9. Nate Solder
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Offensive linemen are underrated more often than not in the NFL, but everyone knows the left tackle is important. He's the guy responsible for protecting a quarterback's blindside and for keeping upright as much as possible.
Is Nate Solder one of the very best left tackles in the NFL? No, but he's still incredibly important, because protecting Tom Brady has the be New England's No. 1 goal—even above winning in the regular season.
In fact, the only reason Solder doesn't rank higher on this list is the fact the Patriots have survived without him before. Solder was only healthy for four games back in 2015, and the Patriots made it all the way to the AFC title game without him.
Of course, the Denver Broncos pass rush completely battered Brady in that championship game, so let's not simply ignore Solder's value.
8. (Tie) David Andrews, Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason
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We're going to cheat a bit and rank New England's three starting interior linemen together. The Patriots running game has been on the upswing in recent weeks. Center David Andrews—who returned to the lineup in Week 13—and guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney have been a big part of that.
The Patriots line is ranked second in run-blocking by Pro Football Outsiders. You have to credit the big guys in the middle.
Thanks to Andrews, Thuney and Mason, the Patriots now have the league's ninth-ranked rushing attack (120.6 yards per game). As a team, they're averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
New England racked up 183 yards against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 alone.
7. Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler
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The Patriots defense has taken a major positive turn this season. The pass defense has taken a major step forward as well. While the pass rush has been better over the last couple weeks, it hasn't been all that impressive overall
Therefore, we have to credit the starting cornerbacks, Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler (we're cheating again). Each is capable of matching up one-on-one with one of an opponent's top receivers, and each has the ball skills to make an opposing quarterback pay.
Butler and Gilmore have four interceptions between them.
Gilmore deserves credit for improving his play and adjusting to the Patriots schemes after a miserable start to the season. His inexperience in coordinator Matt Patricia's system and communication problems led to several defensive breakdowns over the first four weeks of the season. We haven't seen them since.
Butler and Gilmore are playing lockdown defense right now, and losing either would be a big blow to the secondary.
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6. Dion Lewis
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Running back Dion Lewis is a vital part of the Patriots machine for a number of reasons.
For starters, an increased workload for Lewis has helped spark New England's rushing attack. Lewis isn't an every-down runner, but he's incredibly effective. He leads all Patriots backs with 590 yards rushing and a 5.3 yards per carry average. He also has three rushing touchdowns.
Lewis isn't as big a piece of the passing game as fellow backs James White and Rex Burkhead, but he is dangerous when he gets his opportunities. He has 15 receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown so far this season.
As the team's primary kick returner, Lewis also provides value to the special-teams unit. He's averaging 28.9 yards per return and has one touchdown.
5. Kyle Van Noy
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Linebacker Kyle Van Noy is one of the biggest pieces of New England's defense, and he might be the most underrated player on the team. He's a tackling machine, he's a productive pass-rusher and he's taken over a leadership role since the loss of fellow linebacker Dont'a Hightower.
"Kyle's a smart guy and it seems like he kind of enjoys that," coach Bill Belichick said, per Tyler Sullivan of 247Sports.com. "He's a good communicator, so he's good at getting other people around him coordinated or in the right spot."
Van Noy leads the Patriots with 73 tackles. He also has two passes defended and is second on the team with 5.5 sacks.
4. Brandin Cooks
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There's a reason why the Patriots traded away a first-round pick to acquire wideout Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints. He changes what the Patriots do and are able to do on offense. He's the biggest deep threat New England has had since the days of Randy Moss.
This is big because it allows the Patriots to strike deep and hit the big play. It also leaves that threat in the collective mind of opposing defenses. This opens things up underneath for other receivers and helps provide room for the running game.
For the season, Cooks has already racked up 886 yards on 53 receptions. Only six players in the NFL currently have more receiving yards.
3. Rob Gronkowski
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Aside from Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski is the most important piece of the Patriots offense right now. Yes, I know they won the Super Bowl without Gronk last season, but the Patriots did have Martellus Bennett. He's now on injured reserve.
Gronkowski is a far better run blocker than Bennett anyway. In fact, his ability to block is vastly underrated, and Gronkowski is happy to do it.
"I don't really care what my role is, whether it's blocking, if it's receiving a lot," Gronkowski explained, per Isaiah Houde of USA Today. "But I just appreciate that I'm out there playing the game."
Of course, Gronk is a valuable pass-catching weapon, too. He's also arguably Brady's most-trusted target with Julian Edelman on the sideline. He leads the team with 55 receptions and has 849 yards and seven touchdowns.
As long as Gronkowski doesn't make any more bonehead plays like the dirty hit against Buffalo, he's going to make New England's offense a better unit every time he's on the field.
2. Devin McCourty
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Safety Devin McCourty might not be the first guy you think of when you think of New England's new-look secondary, but he's the glue who holds everything together. He's responsible for picking up coverages in more advanced schemes, and he's the last line of defense.
McCourty is ranked second on the team with 71 tackles, and he has five passes defended and an interception.
McCourty is also one of the veteran leaders of this defense, a guy responsible for helping spark the in-season turnaround.
"I think that's the biggest thing with this team, is understanding that we're all in this together," McCourty recently explained, per Tyler Sullivan of 247Sports.com. "We're going to battle as a group. We're going to win as a group. We're going to lose as a group."
McCourty is a guy who leads by example, and he's leading the Patriots defense toward being one of the best units in the NFL.
1. Tom Brady
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Our No. 1 most-important player should be obvious. The Patriots are going to go as far as Brady is able to take them in 2017. They might have been able to make it to the Super Bowl without him last year, at least if Jimmy Garoppolo is as good as some believe. However, Garoppolo is gone and now starting for the San Francisco 49ers.
If the Patriots are forced to rely on Brian Hoyer to win the big one, they could be in trouble.
As long as Brady remains healthy, though, New England is in good hands. He's having one of the best seasons of his career, currently sitting with 3,632 yards passing, 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
He had a "down" game against the Bills with just 258 yards and an interception, but he still completed 70 percent of his passes.
Oh, and the win over Buffalo allowed Brady to add to his impressive collection of records. It was his 27th win over the Bills, giving him the record for most wins by a quarterback over a single opponent. He was previously tied with Brett Favre, who had 26 wins over the Detroit Lions.
Brady gives the Patriots a better chance than any other player to add a record-tying sixth Lombardi Trophy to their display case.
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