Patriots at Broncos
The game in Denver pits the two best from the AFC: Broncos and Patriots. It'a not at all usual for the 2 best teams to make it
to the Conference Championship game, but here they are. Broncos and Patriots do it differently, Broncs with defense; Patriots with offense.
Patriots were AFC leaders and 2nd overall on our key pass offense stat, yards per pass attempt. Broncos come in near league average
at rank 17th. But things look worse than that as Broncos will be starting lightly-used, backup QB Jarrett Sidham. See
Killer Stat, Offense.
On the defensive side of the same stat, a measure of pass D, it's the reverse situation, with Broncos leading the league and Patriots near
league average at rank 14th.
Killer Stat, Defense.
So it's great Offense vs great Defense when Pats have the ball. These strength against strength matchups
are always fun to watch. Which strong side can prevail? Then it's average (or below) Offense vs average Defense when Broncos have the ball. Which average side can outplay the other. Denver, playing the reserve QB, will need a special effort.
In last week's features we showed charts for Denver's sack difference and for New England's incomplete passes. If Broncos are
to stay in this game they will have to take advantage of the Patriot defense. Let's look at the reverse stat for the Patriots: how many pass completions do they allow on defense? In general, it's more than league average. But the bad news for Bronco offense is that Patriots' D was much stronger in the second half of the season. See the chart below.
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2025 through Week 17
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