The Patriots Still Earned Their Super Bowl Run Despite an Easy Schedule

Every dominant team eventually has to deal with the critics saying they didn’t beat anyone. For the New England Patriots, that argument has been taken to a new level because they faced 10 teams who fired their head coach this season. 

Add in Mike Tomlin mutually parting ways with the Steelers, the Jets firing both their coordinators, and the Buccaneers dismissing their offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator and suddenly people think the Patriots are lucky. 

I’m here to tell you that the Patriots are a legitimate football team.

The Patriots Expose Bad Teams

Teams don’t control who they play. The NFL schedule is built in advance and while some teams get easier schedules than others, it’s hard to win in the NFL. 

The Patriots exposed most of the teams on their schedule. Coaches don’t get fired because they lost to New England, but the Patriots beatdowns didn’t help the cause. 

Dating back to Bill Belichick, New England has long been the measuring stick that reveals organizational flaws. This results in many coches being fired, so we’re just returning to the old ways of the Patriots.

Dominant Wins

The Patriots finished the regular season top five in defensive DVOA, allowing fewer than 20 points per game. They ranked top three in red zone defense, holding opponents under 50% touchdown efficiency inside the 20. These numbers reflect great execution. 

Offensively, New England was also very efficient. They ranked top 10 in third-down conversion rate, controlled time of possession, and committed among the fewest turnovers in the league. 

The Patriots beat playoff teams and they also won on the road, never losing as visitors. They won games where the margin for error was razor-thin. 

In the postseason, they have beaten three top-five defenses. The Patriots have earned everything they have gotten this season. 

Coaching changes don’t automatically teams have bad talent. It just means the coaches couldn’t get the needed results, but New England is beating NFL players every week who are very talented. 

The Patriots also dealt with constant roster turnover, injuries, and schematic adjustments all season long. Yet they still finished with one of the league’s best point differentials and did this all in Mike Vrabel’s first season. 

The “10 fired head coaches” is ultimately just people trying to take away from a historic run. New England was simply better prepared, better coached, and better at winning the moments that matter.

If beating unstable teams disqualified contenders, the NFL would never crown a champion. The easy schedule narrative won’t be valid in the Super Bowl as the Patriots are facing one of the best teams in NFL history. 

The Seattle Seahawks have dominated everyone in their path like New England. They have lost just three games but a combined nine points this season, which is very noteworthy. 

Seattle is a hard team to beat and it’s why the Patriots enter the game as a 4.5-point underdog on Fanatics Sportsbook. If New England repeats what they have done all season, they have an excellent chance to win.

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