5 Super Bowl LIII X-Factors for the Patriots and Rams

Phillip Dorsett

A former first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts and now in his second season with the Patriots, Dorsett has been an incredibly reliable target for Tom Brady this season.

Dorsett has caught 70% of the passes (35 of 50) thrown his way and he's been a red zone magnet over the past three weeks, scoring in three consecutive games. Since Josh Gordon left the team following Week 15, Dorsett's role predictably spiked. He's been on the field for at least 35% of the team's snaps in each of the past four games after playing sparingly between Weeks 6-14.

Since Gordon left the team, Dorsett remains behind Chris Hogan in terms of playing time -- Hogan's been on the field for at least 75% of the snaps each game -- and in targets (23-13). But Dorsett has seen just one fewer red zone target than Hogan (5 to 4) and he's been much more productive in that area.

Over the Patriots past four games, Dorsett has 4 catches for 40 yards and 2 touchdowns in the red zone. Hogan, on the other hand, has 2 catches for 9 yards. Last year in the Super Bowl, Dorsett had just 1 catch for 19 yards, but there's a strong chance he outperforms those numbers this year and he could be one of the biggest X-factors in the Patriots' offense come Sunday.