Sure, the offense hasn't looked great the last few weeks - that is undeniable.
But looking at the whole season for some context we have some very encouraging stats going forward into the playoffs - and they are stats that I find meaningful in a post-season environment.
Took some of these stats from the Reiss blog (analysis is mine):
Please remind yourself that we've had a tough schedule this year - including that murderers row mid-season.
Points per game
Final ranking: Fourth (29.25)
Last season: Third (27.75)
Im sure offense is up all over the league - but to have the 4th highest scoring offense is no mean feat when you consider that we have a shambolic O-line and no real receivers outside of an injury prone TE
Points allowed per game
Final ranking: Eighth (19.56)
Last season: 10th (21.12)
We've faced some heavy hitting offences this year - so to reduce our PPG by an average of 1.5 points is pretty special.
Third-down offense
Final ranking: Sixth (98 of 221, 44.3 percent)
Last season: 16th (83 of 221, 37.6 percent)
One of the over-looked stats - I feel that 3rd down production (on both offence and defence) can be a much more reliable indicator of postseason performance than simply points scored/conceded. We;ve definitely had issues in recent playoff games consistently moving the ball on key 3rd downs - and also limiting T.O.P for opponents. This is a huge step up this year - from strictly average into the very, very good category is very encouraging.
Third-down defense
Final ranking: 16th (84 of 209, 40.2 percent)
Last season: 26th (98 of 232, 42.2 percent)
3rd down D - the bane of Patriots fans for the best part of a decade - the inability of the defence to get off the field in a timely fashion has often exagerated the pressure on the offense to produce when it finally does get the ball. 26th in the league might be good enough - to play bend-don't-break against average offences - against the better units we see in the playoffs, who don't turn the ball over regularly, it means we don't see the ball for long periods of time. While still not great - the improvement in this area gives me hope that we can concede FG's and not TD's when teams do get into the RZ.
Red zone offense (based on TD percentage)
Final ranking: Ninth (39 of 67)
Last season: 15th (36 of 65)
From average to good - I would have expected this number to be better, to be honest. We have some decent RZ targets with Gronk/Lafell/Wright but the end of year swoon has lessened our efficiency. Must improve on these numbers on the playoffs - and a large part of the will be properly committing to the run and also executing better run blocking. Constant shotgun in the RZ limits things greatly.
Red zone defense (based on TD percentage)
Final ranking: Tied-6th (22 of 46)
Last season: 16th (28 of 50)
Tied in with our much improved 3rd down efficiency on defence this stat really gives me hope that we can limit points scored by opponents when they finally do make it inside the 20. I could really do without seeing another defensive performance like the ones against Aaron Rodgers and Geno Smith - way too passive - and waiting for mistakes in prime-time is not the way to go.