Patriots Stat Breakdowns:

Super Bowl 49 was arguably the most exciting and memorable championship game in the history of the National Football League. On Sunday NFL fans will be treated to a rematch of that epic event as the Seattle Seahawks travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots. Currently these two clubs are favorites to represent their respective conferences at NRG Stadium in Houston on February 5 for Super Bowl 51.

Anyone thinking Tom Brady would be well-rested and ready to go after his four-game ban probably never imagined he’d be this good.

The first time the Patriots and Steelers met was 44 years ago today at the old Three Rivers Stadium with the Steelers taking home a 33-3 win

Here’s a statistical look at Jimmy Garoppolo’s throws on Sunday night, including a passing chart showing where he had the most success.

While we are all still basking in the after glow of a hard fought upset road victory against a quality team, here are some numbers from Sunday night’s game at Phoenix.

Looking back at their inability to run the football, that definitely needs to be a focus this offseason for the Patriots.

For most of the season the topic of conversation in regards to the New England Patriots has centered on the performance of the offensive line. While that unit has at times deserved scrutiny, the return of Sebastian Vollmer has seemed to have stabilized the group. Overlooked has been what may be the real Achilles heel for this squad as they battle the Denver Broncos on Sunday: the team’s third down defense.

The league released the playing time totals from both teams, and here’s a quick rundown of the snap counts for the Patriots on both sides of the football from yesterday’s game.

Thanks to the epic meltdown by the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers advance in the NFL playoffs – and the New England Patriots will host the Kansas City Chiefs rather than Cincy in the division round of the 2015-2016 post-season.

Going back to 2000, no one has thrown even close to the number of touchdowns in the final two quarters of play in the postseason as Brady.

Looking back at everything the Patriots have had to overcome this season, it’s impressive that they’re still sitting with the number two seed and in position to make a postseason run.

With the 2015 regular season in the rearview mirror, it’s worth noting that Stephen Gostkowski fell into a relatively exclusive group thanks to his performance in 2015.

The Patriots have had their issues moving the chains and it’s hard not to wonder how much better they might finally be when Julian Edelman returns for the postseason.

Expect the New England offense to perform much better than it did last week. Let’s give credit where it is due: the Jet defense is one of the best in the NFL. The Patriots should have much better success on third down than they did last week, which will lead to more scoring opportunities – and at the same time keep the Patriot defense off the field, allowing them to be less gassed and more effective.

In one of only three NFL Week 16 games between two teams with winning records, the 12-2 New England Patriots take on the 9-5 New York Jets in a game with playoff implications for both teams. The Patriots have already won the AFC East title (for the seventh consecutive season) and earned a first round bye. The Pats can clinch the number one seed and home field throughout the conference playoffs with a win over their arch rivals (or with a loss by Cincinnati). The Jets have the same record as Pittsburgh and Kansas City but need help because they would lose tiebreakers to the Steelers or Chiefs. Gang Green will be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss combined with wins by the Broncos, Steelers and Chiefs. The Jets would also be eliminated from the number five seed with either a loss plus a Pittsburgh win, or a loss plus victories by the Broncos and Chiefs.