Patriots' Strengths Kept Them Alive, But Biggest Weakness Became Fatal Flaw
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Sunday's AFC Championship Game felt off from the start. From the first two drives to the riveting final seconds, the same old Denver demons danced around Tom Brady and the Patriots in yet another disappointing defeat in the thin Mile High air.
This time, the Patriots' biggest strengths kept the game from getting out of hand. But the most glaring weakness on the team, the patchwork offensive line, was the one that ended up killing their season for good.
Brady did not have a great day throwing the football against the Broncos, forced to navigate through seven-or-eight-man defensive backfields while simultaneously dodging Denver's fierce, relentless pass rush. Although the utter lack of pass protection and tight coverage by the Broncos secondary would have made life difficult for any quarterback, Brady made uncharacteristically careless mistakes with the ball, most egregiously with his interception to Von Miller that directly resulted in a Denver touchdown, while missing several other throws - most importantly, an open Rob Gronkowski on the failed two-point conversion attempt.
However, Brady and Gronk were simply too great to be held down for 60 full minutes, although it looked like Denver might pull that off. Brady became the assassin who has led improbable comeback drives in Super Bowl XLIX and countless other games in his career, heaving a 40-yard rainbow into double coverage, which dropped perfectly into Gronk's hands despite two defensive backs draping themselves over him.
Gronk wasn't finished yet. On yet another 4th down, Brady chucked it in Gronk's direction even though he was double-covered in the back of the end zone. Not only did Gronk snatch the ball, he kept both feet in bounds and with two massive plays suddenly gave the Patriots hope for overtime.
He and Brady ultimately didn't make enough plays to win the game, but the transcendent greatness of those two players delivered a thrilling finish that kept the Patriots' season alive until the very end. The drive would have become legendary had the Patriots ended up winning the Super Bowl.
Championship Defense
Making up for the rash of injuries and up-and-down nature of the usually prolific Patriots offense, the defense took another step forward in 2015 and delivered an arguably championship-level effort in limiting the Broncos running game and forcing the Broncos to beat them through the air with Manning. No. 18 ended up making just enough good throws and protected the ball well but otherwise couldn't score on the Patriots defense, unless handed a short field.
Unfortunately, the Denver defense was nearly perfect in hammering Brady with the most hits on a quarterback in any game all season, while the Patriots made just a few crucial mistakes that made a huge difference in the game. Jamie Collins blew his coverage on both touchdowns to the Broncos' Owen Daniels but otherwise had an outstanding game swarming the ball and pressuring Manning. Dont'a Hightower also had a great day against the run, and Malcolm Butler held his own in coverage despite giving up a couple of big plays.
Bottom Line
Despite one of the best defensive efforts of the year, and Brady and Gronk working their usual magic at the very end, it wasn't enough to overcome the Patriots' lack of talent and depth on the offensive line, which got dominated perhaps more than any other game in the Belichick and Brady tenure.
Brady had minimal time to throw for the entire game, sometimes even less than 1.5 seconds, as Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Derek Wolfe, among others, gashed the protection up front for 60 minutes and proved to be by far the biggest mismatch in the game. The Patriots eggshell-walked their way through most of the season with a patchwork O-line that suffered key losses at tackle (Nate Solder) and the interior (guard/center Ryan Wendell), leaving them inexperienced, undermanned, and severely less talented than the Broncos defensive front.
There's no question that Brady made some very bad decisions throwing the ball, one of which arguably cost them the game, and blew a good opportunity to tie the game at the end. But with the way the entire offensive line got historically decimated in that game, just about any quarterback would have struggled against the Broncos' combination of relentless pressure and tight coverage. Even a healthy Solder, who has struggled against Miller in the past, may not have made much of an impact.
For just about the entire 2015 season, the offensive line was the Patriots' most glaring weakness, especially after Solder and Wendell went down. It was pointed to as the team's potentially fatal flaw. It came to fruition in spectacularly disappointing fashion in Denver. Not even Brady and Gronk could save the Patriots from it.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
