Poll question. How did the Patriots win the Super Bowl?

by scoring more than the other teams in the playoffs

All of the above.

We can go on all day here.

Dont'a Hightower playing with one arm blowing up Russell Okung to trip up Lynch.

PATSNUTme said:

Welker didn't drop a pass.

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I gotta disagree on this. I've killed on people for starting this debate over and over, but now that we have #4 under the belt and I can look back on that play without wanting to kill myself, let me end the debate: He f**king dropped it. He misplayed the ball while it was in the air, and had all day to adjust. He didn't, then he flailed at it like a fat squirrel about to miss a tree limb, and still whiffed on a ball most would grab.

Every receiver on our current roster makes that catch. I'm sorry. This is not my opinion, this is a fact that I have come to realize, which is why I'm OK with starting the debate, because I am ending it. I won't respond to any reply you have so as to derail this thread - I'm not saying Wes Welker is some anti-clutch assshat, but he blew that one big time.

As for the OP's original question: We won because we made more plays. I hate to give a cliched answer, but having seen the same Super Bowl play out over and over, what other conclusion can we come to?

The Patriots formula: craft a good team, get into the playoffs, hope you make the plays. There is no secret recipe. Offense doesn't win titles, defense doesn't win titles. A good team which makes more good plays during three 60 minute contests than its opponents wins titles.

But yes, the offense was better in the playoffs. The offense was insanely good, in fact. And the defense was in the same position as the ones that gave up SB42 & SB46 until Strap bailed them out.

That said - as it pertains to team-building, I don't read into the offense winning us the title meaning the Pats should change their philosophy. Just build a good team and see what happens. There are no guarantees.

By scoring 4 touchdowns (from Tom Brady) and holding the Seahawks to 24 points. It gets a bit more complicated from there.

JMC00 said:

Dont'a Hightower playing with one arm blowing up Russell Okung to trip up Lynch.

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It was actually Chung that grabbed Lynch's ankle and saved a TD there. Lynch was about to step right over Hightower and lunge for the goal line, but Chung spun off his block, reached out, and grabbed his ankle. Amazing, unheralded play.

It's a team game every guy was instrumental in winning the championship, but I truly feel Tom Brady was the biggest reason. His resiliency, passion, and determination allowed him to rally his team from 14pt deficit against Baltimore and 10pt deficit against the legion of boom. Having thay kind of Quarterback and leader the team was always in the games even Blount, Revis and others said it postgame " can never count 12 out he lives for these moments."

If the offense played this well in the previous 2 Superbowls, the Pats would be on a 6-game SB win streak.

Combination of three things:

1. Health.

2. Every position on both sides of the ball stocked with talent.

3. Luck.

Sicilian said:

Crap! We're now at Brady6 Alert Level 3!

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Offense was the biggest contributor. But obviously the improved secondary helped.

BTW - the reasons for the improved secondary were more than just the addition of Revis/Browner.

Concussion Protocol said:

It was actually Chung that grabbed Lynch's ankle and saved a TD there. Lynch was about to step right over Hightower and lunge for the goal line, but Chung spun off his block, reached out, and grabbed his ankle. Amazing, unheralded play.

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I was just about to write that I didn't think Chung gets enough credit on that play. Hightower was in the right place at the right time but Chung was clutch.

Anyway, one thing this thread highlights is that so many things have to go right to win a Super Bowl. All those pieces: Gronk FINALLY healthy in the post-season; the enhanced d-backfield; the running game hitting when it need; Edelman; o-line settling down; Amendola earning his keep at the right time; in-season acquisitions paying off (then getting paid). Could go on. That's what's so special about getting #4, and about nine AFCCGs, six Super Bowls, and four titles. To pull those pieces together year after year — around the two essential pieces in Brady and Belichick — is astounding.

I'm sure im going out on a limb here, but they won the superbowl by scoring more points then the ravens, then the colts, and finally the seahawks, in back to back to back games.

This might be nitpicky, but whatever magic Brady and the OL line used in the 4th quarter to push Seattle's DL BEHIND Brady so he could step up and zing it would've look great against both Giant's SB losses.

My take is simple, Brady played other worldly.. consider his 4th quarter stats:

13 out of 15 passes completed(at one time went 8 for 8) against the bestest and baddest D backfield the NFL has ever seen..
125 yards passing, two touchdowns..
Brilliantly drawing the Seahawks offside when pinned against the goal like..

That and our D playing very well..

It was definitely because they deflated the balls all season dontcha know?

KontradictioN said:

Combination of three things:

1. Health.

2. Every position on both sides of the ball stocked with talent.

3. Luck.

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I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. 1 and 3 are tied together. This was the healthiest Patriots team in a long, long time with very few injuries. That is the biggest factor. They also got lucky with Flacco making a terrible read. The Super Bowl INT wasn't that lucky, but just the fact they had a chance to get a turnover at all was surprising.

Against the Ravens, it took several "formation substitution" plays, a trick pass from Edelman to Amendola, and the Flacco mistake; Patriots probably should have lost that game but got to live another day.

All in all, this team wasn't necessarily "the best" team the Pats have had although they were right up there due to the secondary; but, it doesn't always matter because its about what you accomplish that defines you.

The offense was the mvp but Our defense was lights out on 3rd down this postseason. A far cry from the last several years where we could never get off the field

AndyJohnson said:

But thats the way it always is.
You could use "we won the SB" or "we didn't win the SB" to support virtually any argument. Just not convincingly.

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Agreed. That's why you can't say getting Revis and Browner was the reason we won the Super Bowl. We won for a lot of reasons, all mixed together.

AndyJohnson said:

But thats the way it always is.
You could use "we won the SB" or "we didn't win the SB" to support virtually any argument. Just not convincingly.

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Agreed. That's why you can't say getting Revis and Browner was the reason we won the Super Bowl. We won for a lot of reasons, all mixed together.