5 Reasons Why the Patriots Will Win Super Bowl LI
3. The Same Is True of the Patriots' Offense
As if it weren't bad enough that New England excels at stopping Atlanta's best offensive strength. They do the exact same thing on the other side of the ball.
There's only one area in which the Falcons are above average defensively, and that's at generating pressure. Edge rusher Vic Beasley had a monster breakout campaign, and he helped the Falcons stay afloat after cornerback Desmond Trufant's season-ending injury.
If the Falcons want to defeat an elite offense, they need to get to the passer. No team was better at preventing that from happening than the Patriots.
Let's do a similar practice to the previous slide, this time comparing the Falcons' pass rush to the Patriots' pass blocking and the league average. Sack NEP per drop back shows the expected points teams lost due to sacks over the course of the season. The "Rank" column shows how each unit compared to the rest of the league with the Falcons on the defensive side and the Patriots on the offensive.
| Team | Sack NEP | Sack NEP per Drop Back | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons' Defense | -66.68 | -0.1 | 12th |
| Patriots' Offense | -32.05 | -0.06 | 1st |
| League Average | -58.52 | -0.1 | -- |
The Falcons were just a bit above average here, but again, it was their strength defensively due to immense struggles elsewhere. The Patriots may be the offense best able to limit that strength.
If the Falcons can't get to the passer, they'll be forced to rely on their secondary to halt New England's offense. As we saw earlier, that's probably not happening. An elite pass rush has been the downfall of the Patriots in previous Super Bowls, but they may have a team capable of slowing it this time.
