Year in Review: Recapping New England Patriots' 2017 Season
The 2017 NFL season isn't quite over, and certainly not for the New England Patriots. They've already locked up a first-round bye and can earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win in Week 17.
Still, we're closing in on the end of the calendar year, which makes this a terrific time to look back at the season so far.
We'll take a look at the biggest storylines, the biggest disappointments and surprises, the standout moments and what's still to come for the 2017 Patriots.
A Rocky Start
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The defending Super Bowl champions didn't start their 2017 campaign the way they wanted. After raising their latest banner at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots then proceeded to get blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-27.
New England doesn't get blown out very often, and almost never at home.
Unfortunately, this loss wasn't a complete aberration. The highlight of the Chiefs game was just how poorly the new-look Patriots defense played, and the trend continued through the opening month. In that span, the Patriots gave up an average of 32 points per game.
A loss—again at home—in Week 4 dropped the Patriots to 2-2 on the season and brought about questions of a Super Bowl hangover. It was certainly fair to wonder whether these Patriots were destined to stumble.
In fact, had Tom Brady not led an amazing comeback against the Houston Texans, New England would have been 1-3 after the opening month.
The Recovery
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Patriots fans have seen this story before, though. They were blown out by the Chiefs, 41-14, back in 2014. That loss dropped New England to 2-2 and sounded a premature end to Brady's career among many fans and analysts.
"Brady is no longer a difference-making quarterback," Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter wrote after the loss. "He can't save the Patriots' season without help, and it's hard to see where that help will come from."
The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl after the 2014 season, and Brady has added two more rings and two Super Bowl MVP titles to his trophy case.
It was too early to panic then, and it was too early to panic one month into the 2017 season. New England ripped off eight straight wins after losing to the Panthers and saw a tangible improvement on defense. They allowed just 11.9 points per game in October and November.
In typical Patriots fashion, New England buckled down, worked hard and emerged as one of the best teams in the NFL.
Inconsistencies Remain
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While the Patriots did go through a tremendous eight-game stretch and have only lost one game since the opening month, there have been inconsistencies. Most of them have come on defense.
The Patriots lost their third game of the season in Week 14 against the Miami Dolphins. In that contest, the defense surrendered the type of big plays it did during the first four weeks. Miami racked up 362 yards, with 120 of those coming on the ground.
The defense wasn't any better a week later against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It surrendered 413 yards—143 on the ground—and nearly blew a lead with less than a minute remaining.
Keep in mind, the Steelers played the entire second half without star wideout Antonio Brown.
Even with the strong stretch, the Patriots have been statistically underwhelming on defense. They're ranked 29th in yards allowed (373.9 per game), 29th in pass defense (254.2 yards) and 26th in run defense (119.7 yards).
The Patriots are not guaranteed to beat the top offenses in the postseason.
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The Showdown
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As previously mentioned, the Patriots came out of their loss in Miami and headed to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers for the most important game of the season. Pittsburgh had a one-game lead in the AFC, and a loss would have made it impossible for New England to get the No. 1 seed.
In a back-and-forth game, it took a late Brady-led rally to earn the win. Of course, it took quite a bit of fortune too.
The Steelers lost Brown in the first half and were forced to play the remainder of the game without their most explosive weapon. Even without him, they held a lead until Dion Lewis scored with under a minute remaining. A two-point pass from Brady to Gronkowski gave the Patriots a field-goal lead, but it quickly seemed destined to not hold.
The Steelers needed just one play to move to the New England 10-yard line. On the next snap, Ben Roethlisberger threw a would-be touchdown strike to tight end Jesse James. After official review, however, it was determined that James didn't maintain control as he crossed the goal line, as the ball hit the ground.
Two plays later, Roethlisberger was picked off by safety Duron Harmon.
New England's win was either sheer luck or questionable at best. Still, a win is a win, and it gave the Patriots control of their own destiny.
It also potentially sets up a killer rematch between these two teams in the AFC title game. Each is now locked into a first-round bye.
Biggest Disappointments
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The biggest disappointment this season has been the sporadic—and often bad—play of the defense. This is been discussed quite a bit already, but just consider what the defense has looked like a year after allowing an NFL-low 15.6 points per game.
There have been a couple of individual disappointments on the team as well.
Running back Mike Gillislee was acquired from the Buffalo Bills as a restricted free agent. He was signed away with a two-year, $6.4 million deal. However, he hasn't been the explosive player the Patriots anticipated.
Gillislee averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns on 101 carries with the Bills last season. This year, he's averaging just 3.7 yards per rush and has five scores on 104 carries. He also disappeared from the lineup for a stretch entirely, often as a healthy scratch.
Due to injuries to James White and Rex Burkhead, Gillislee returned to the lineup in Week 16 and responded with a respectable game. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry against his former team and found the end zone for the first time since Week 2. Perhaps he'll turn things around in the postseason.
Tight end Dwayne Allen has been even more of a disappointment. The Patriots acquired him from the Indianapolis Colts and have him on the books for just under $5 million this season. He's delivered 10 receptions, 86 yards and a touchdown.
Those aren't impressive numbers considering Allen has appeared in all 15 games, including two games in which Gronkowski did not.
Biggest Surprises
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While there have been some disappointments for the Patriots this season, there have been some surprises too. For every time the defense has allowed a big play, the offense has made one, even after Brady's favorite receiver, Julian Edelman, started the season on IR with a torn ACL.
The Patriots are still ranked first in total offense with 398.5 yards per game. Part of the success has come due to the emergence of running back Dion Lewis.
Lewis has always been an explosive player, but he's become a true leading back this season. He has 803 yards rushing and 174 yards receiving, with seven touchdowns and a 5.2 yards-per-carry average. He's also racked up 570 yards and a score on kick returns.
The Patriots have had some individual surprises on defense too, most notably rookies Deatrich Wise and Adam Butler. The two defensive linemen have combined for 44 tackles and seven sacks. Butler has been a force against the run in the middle, while Wise (five sacks) has helped boost the pass rush.
These two are surprises because of how they found their way to the team. Wise was a fourth-round draft pick, and Butler was signed as an undrafted free agent. Unsurprisingly, the two are close.
"We met each other in high school," Butler explained, via the team's official website. "We both threw shotput, and he beat me by probably half an inch ... He reminds me of it all the time. I was going to go to state if I had won that track meet, but he knocked me out of state."
Brady Is Still a Star
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Brady playing well isn't exactly a surprise, but what he's doing at age 40 is pretty remarkable. So far, he's thrown for 4,387 yards, 30 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He's completed 67.5 percent of his passes and holds a quarterback rating of 104.2.
Brady is playing at an MVP-caliber level. If he wins the award, he'll be the oldest to ever do so by a pretty significant margin. Rich Gannon and Peyton Manning both won it at 37.
Brady told CBS Sunday Morning in September that he doesn't plan to retire anytime soon. The Patriots must be comfortable with this plan because they traded away both Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo this year. While the future is obviously unknown, Brady's 2017 play has done little to cast doubt on his football future.
Team Leaders
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Brady obviously leads the Patriots in passing statistics. Here's a rundown of other notable team-leaders through Week 16.
Lewis' 803 yards rushing leads the team, and his 5.2 yards-per-carry average is the highest among running backs. Receiver Chris Hogan, however, leads all players with more than one rush on the season with a 5.7 yards-per-carry average. Lewis and Gillislee are tied with five rushing touchdowns.
Gronkowski leads the team in both receptions (69) and receiving yards (1,084). He also leads in receiving touchdowns with eight. Brandin Cooks leads all wideouts with 1,003 yards and six touchdowns, while Phillip Dorsett leads all pass-catchers with an average of 18.7 yards per reception.
Safety Devin McCourty leads the defense with 89 tackles. Defensive end Trey Flowers has a team-leading 6.5 sacks, while Harmon has a team-leading four interceptions.
Cornerback Malcolm Butler leads the team with three forced fumbles.
What's Next?
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Obviously, the primary goal for the Patriots is to secure another Lombardi Trophy. It would be the franchise's sixth, tying New England with Pittsburgh for the most all time.
First, though, the Patriots have to make it to Super Bowl LII. The first obstacle is the New York Jets in Week 17 to lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
In the postseason, the Patriots will have to contend with the likes of the Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chiefs. This might not seem like murderer's row, but these three teams—who have already punched their postseason tickets—all match up well with New England.
The Jaguars have a historically good defense, one that could even give Brady trouble. The Chiefs have already embarrassed the Patriots in New England, and the Steelers only lost to the Patriots—without Brown, mind you—because of James' drop.
If the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl, they'll likely face off against one of the most complete teams in the NFL. Teams from the NFC like the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints all have the overall talent to beat New England.
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