The Saints, Patriots and Packers were ranked 1, 2, 3 in the NFL in total offense this season. They were the three highest-scoring teams in the league with New Orleans, which set an NFL record for total net yards (7,474), scoring 35 points per game, followed by Green Bay (34.2) and the Patriots (32.1).
The Saints, Patriots, and Packers also aligned at the bottom of the league’s pass defense -- ranking 30th, 31st and 32d, respectively. The Patriots are the only ones left standing to try to make the case that a great offense can override all in today’s fantasy-football inflated NFL.
That’s why Sunday’s AFC title game isn’t going to be decided by strength against strength. We know what Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense can do. We know what Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and the Ravens’ parsimonious defense, which has surrendered an NFL-low 11 TD passes this season, can do. (By the way, it’s comical that it’s now en vogue to pick apart the Ravens’ defense based on competition when the Patriots have been feasting off desultory opposing QB play for nine weeks.)
The AFC Super Bowl representative is going to be determined by weakness against weakness -- Baltimore’s inconsistent quarterback against the Patriots’ double-jointed, bend-but-don’t-break pass defense.
Can the Patriots defense befuddle Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who played some defense of his own last week? Or does a Patriots’ defense that has been doubted and derided all season long follow the disturbing trend set by New Orleans and Green Bay and exit the playoffs?
One side will earn the respect it has been clamoring for all season. The other will earn the ire and I-told-you-so’s of its disappointed fan base.
The mistake some of the Foxborough Faithful have made the last couple of years after playoff losses is to put all the blame on Brady and the offense. When TB12 ushered in this Era of Good Feelings in Foxborough by winning his first 10 playoff games, only twice did his team top 30 points.
