3 Stats That Prove the Patriots Can Still Win the Super Bowl This Season

By the way they've been talked about recently, you'd never think the New England Patriots are 10-3, with an inside track to a first-round bye in the AFC. The offense has sputtered to a halt in recent weeks, and the New England defense, which once seemed impenetrable, has shown some cracks in the armor.

But make no mistake, Tom Brady and the Patriots are still more than capable of hoisting their seventh Lombardi Trophy this February. With that in mind, let's take a look at three stats that prove New England can still win the Super Bowl this season.

1. Defensive Adjusted Yards Per Attempt

Stephon Gilmore is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, but New England's entire secondary has been dominant this season. Opposing passers have averaged 4.0 adjusted yards per pass attempt (AY/A) against the Patriots this season. For context, that's the best mark in the league, and it's 1.5 AY/A better than what the second-place San Francisco 49ers have surrendered this season. The gap between the Patriots and 49ers in AY/A is the same as the gap between No. 2 San Francisco and the No. 14 Los Angeles Chargers (surrendering 7.0 AY/A). The Patriots are also No. 1 in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA metric, and with passing being at a premium in the postseason, New England is going to be really difficult to throw against.

2. Average Starting Field Position

Sustaining drives against New England has been outrageously difficult this season. The Patriots' defense has only allowed 202 first downs, the best such mark in the league. With teams struggling to consistently move the chains, opponents often find themselves in a bad spot, and this defense has been incredibly opportunistic. In fact, 17.9 percent of New England's opponent's drives end in a turnover, which is the second-best mark in the NFL. The Patriots also have the league's best interception percentage (4.8). All of this allows New England to keep its opponent off the field, and consistently put its offense in advantageous situations. The Patriots have the best average starting field position in the league (33.27 yard line), which is a great way to help a struggling offense.

3. Tom Brady's Stats in December (2017-18)

Tom Brady's play always seems to decline toward the end of the regular season. In 2017, Brady averaged 240.6 passing yards per game while tossing six touchdowns and five interceptions during that five-game span. In 2018, he averaged 218.3 passing yards per contest while throwing six TDs and three INTs across his last three regular-season games. In both cases, his numbers were significantly down from what he averaged during that season. While his latest swoon might seem a little more pronounced, he's always managed to turn it on in the playoffs. Brady has made the Super Bowl (winning two) in each of the last three seasons. Poor play at the end of the regular season has become a bit of a trend for Brady, and it hasn't mattered yet. Until he looks like this in the playoffs, it's fair to assume he'll be just fine when it matters most.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.