New England Patriots

New England Patriots: Team Grades for AFC Championship Game

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:22 a.m. ET

Fansided, Nick Ziegler/FanSided via Musket Fire

Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft celebrates after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers to advance to Super Bowl 51. What grades did the team receive in the win?

On Sunday, the New England Patriots were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 36-17. As decent-sized favorites, the Patriots were able to handle their business rather easily in the AFC Championship Game.

It must be noted that Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell did get injured early in the game which surely affected the outcome. As one of the best players in the NFL, not having Bell allowed the Patriots to focus on Antonio Brown, and he was shut down for the most part.

On offense, the Patriots looked extremely sharp. After a somewhat disappointing performance against the Houston Texans, the Patriots bounced back nicely. Tom Brady was protected well, and he was given time to torch the Steelers’ secondary. A big game from Brady resulted in some ridiculous stats for Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman, who both played excellent.

The strong game from both the offense and the defense resulted in the easy win for the Patriots. There were a few milestones reached by players, as this was one of the best games the Patriots have played all season.

Now, the Patriots will be turning their attentions to the Atlanta Falcons. However, before we turn our focus to the Falcons, let’s give out some grades for the Patriots in their AFC Championship win.

Passing Offense:

The story of the game for the Patriots was certainly their passing offense. After a somewhat poor performance by their standards against the Houston Texans, the passing offense was really sharp against the Steelers.

As always, Tom Brady led the way for the passing offense. In the win, he was able to total 384 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and zero turnovers. After being somewhat harassed by the Texans’ pressure in the AFC Divisional Round, the Patriots did a much better job protecting Brady. Against the Steelers, Brady was sacked twice, and the pocket was rather clean throughout the game.

The big game from Brady also resulted in big games for his wide receivers. Chris Hogan led the way for the Patriots with nine receptions, 180 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. It was without a doubt the best game of the year for Hogan, and the best in his career so far. In addition to Hogan, Julian Edelman was also able to total over 100 receiving yards. Edelman has continued to be a favorite target of Brady, and he always seems to make a big catch when the Patriots need it. Overall, it was an outstanding game for the passing offense.

Grade: A+

Rushing Offense:

Even though the Patriots cruised to a win against the Steelers, their rushing offense was a non-factor for much of the game. In the win against the Texans, we saw running back Dion Lewis shine for the Patriots. He was able to have one of the best games in his career, and many believed he was going to be called upon often against the Steelers. However, that was not the case.

In the win, Lewis totaled just six carries for 11 rushing yards. Instead of Lewis, it was LeGarrette Blount who was the featured back for the Patriots. Blount totaled 47 rushing yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Even though he only averaged 2.9 yards per carry, Blount did have some good runs in the second half.

Against the Falcons, the Patriots will have to be able to run the ball a bit better. Even though their passing offense was exceptional, being balanced is important for an offense. The Patriots were able to still use their play action passes, however, the Steelers likely hoping the Patriots would do them the favor of running the football. It wasn’t the worst day on the ground, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Grade: D

Passing Defense:

One of the keys for the Patriots coming into the game was that they had to slow down Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler is emerging as one of the best in the NFL, and on Sunday he won the battle with Brown. Butler shadowed Brown often with help over the top. This resulted in Brown totaling just seven receptions and 77 receiving yards. Keeping Brown under 100 receiving yards was certainly an accomplishment for the Patriots’ defense.

As expected with Brown being shut down, Ben Roethlisberger didn’t perform up to his usual standard for the Steelers either. In the loss, Roethlisberger totaled 314 passing yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. With Brown being taken out of the game, Roethlisberger was forced to throw often to Eli Rogers and Jesse James. Even though they both had nice games, the Patriots were willing to let them both try to beat them rather than Brown.

Bill Belichick is famous for taking away a teams best player. After the injury suffered by Bell early in the game, stopping Brown became a much easier for the Patriots’ defense. With a lot of the damage coming from the Steelers late, the Patriots’ passing defense was certainly very good in the win.

Grade: A

Rushing Defense:

Arguably the best unit for the Patriots this season has been their rushing defense. In the regular season, the Patriots ranked third in the NFL in total rushing yards allowed. Against a talented offensive line and strong running game, the Patriots only allowed 54 rushing yards.

While the Patriots’ rushing defense was great, it has to be noted that Bell was injured in the first quarter. Bell is one of the best running backs in the NFL, and having him in the game would have likely made this a different game to some extent.

In the loss, Bell totaled six carries for 20 rushing yards. His replacement DeAngelo Williams then totaled 34 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown. Williams had one good drive for the Steelers, but the Patriots were able to adjust to his running style compared to Bell’s rather quickly.

With a lead for most of the game and a backup running back in, the Patriots’ rushing defense had a rather easy evening. This is a unit that continues to be underrated, as they are proving to be the backbone of the Patriots’ defense. In the Super Bowl, the Patriots will be challenged by another talented rushing attack. However, there is no reason to believe that they won’t be up for the challenge.

Grade: A

Special Teams:

It was a rather uneventful night on special teams for the Patriots, and there is nothing wrong with that. After returning a kickoff for a touchdown against the Texans, Lewis was only able to return one kickoff for 18 yards on Sunday.

Covering kicks wasn’t a problem for the Patriots in the win, as they held the Steelers to a 20.7 yards per return. With Antonio Brown returning punts, the Patriots did a very good job making sure he didn’t have a huge play that could have changed momentum in a flash. Ryan Allen was only asked to punt twice in the game. On those two punts, he averaged 48.5 yards per kick.

In the kicking game for the Patriots, Stephen Gostkowski was solid kicking field goals. Gostkowski was a perfect three-for-three on field goals with a 47-yard kick being his furthest. However, Gostkowski did miss one of his four extra point attempts.

With a great offense and a solid defense, the Patriots don’t need to do anything crazy on special teams. As long as they protect the ball and don’t cost either side of the ball field position, they are doing their job. The solid performance against the Steelers has earned the Patriots’ special teams unit a solid grade for the AFC Championship.

Grade: B+