Patriots are considered Super Bowl favorites by advanced stats release
The New England Patriots entered this year as a bit of an unknown considering how they leaned on a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones. Thanks to the AFC’s weakness and New England’s dominating defense, this team is well positioned to make a very deep run in the playoffs.
the Tennessee Titans currently have the No. 1 seed, but they might not have Derrick Henry in the backfield for the rest of the season.
The Ravens and Chiefs haven’t blown up teams, the Bills have lost several winnable games to bad teams, and the hot starts of the Bengals and Browns seem to be running out of steam.
Jones and the Patriots seized the day by winning five straight and passing Buffalo in the AFC East. While some might be skeptical of their chances of facing a rookie quarterback, some advanced metrics suggest New England has a clear path to the Super Bowl.
Football underdogs The DVOA statistic ranks New England as the best team in the AFC.
With their similar DAVE stat ranking only four AFC teams in the top 13 in all of football, FO posits that New England may have a much easier path to the Championship than some NFC contenders.
The New England Patriots are considered Super Bowl contenders.
DVOA is a statistic that measures the success of a given game or series of games while adjusting for factors such as down, distance and opponent quality. DAVE combines early season projections and standings.
In a nutshell, the Patriots are the best team in the AFC when you adjust to the quality of the teams they’ve played.
While a defense led by veterans like Devin McCourty and youngsters like Christian Barmore were a big reason for such a quick turnaround from a 7-9 record last year, Jones’ ability to avoid turnovers has helped improve that offense.
Jones is playing better than any rookie quarterback right now, and New England will need him to continue in December.
The Patriots have a few tough games coming up in which they can prove their quality. Tennessee may be hurt, but they can hang out with anyone in this conference. The Bills can still light up the scoreboard and they will face New England twice in three games. The Colts have found their groove lately.
New England has stumbled upon a winning formula that works, and they should be able to keep their hopes alive by returning to it during the winter months.
