The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl

thanks to a thrilling overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. The 37-31 game started with New England jumping to an early 14-point lead Authentic Kendarius Webster Jersey , before the Chiefs climbed back to force the game into the fifth quarter — one that saw the Patriots pull out the victory to advance to their third straight world championship game.Let’s dig a little deeper into New England’s playoff opener and analyze some advanced statistics from the contest.Pass distributionNFL Next Gen StatsDespite throwing two interceptions, Tom Brady had a generally good day against the Chiefs. Given plenty of time to scan the field and go through his progressions, the 41-year old was particularly productive when targeting the short boundaries and the intermediate middle of the field. And even though he did not go deep often, Brady kept the defense honest with the occasional downfield attempt.Likely league MVP Patrick Mahomes was not afraid to target all areas of the field, but he was not always successful in doing so. While he was perfect on short throws behind the line of scrimmage, the 24-year old had a tougher time going deep with New England’s downfield coverage doing a tremendous job against his All-Pro weapons Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Mahomes still made plenty of big plays but was kept in check in the first half.Offensive rush directionNFL Next Gen StatsJust like they did in week six, the Patriots dominated the Chiefs on the ground to the tune of 177 yards and four scores on 47 non-kneel down carries. The most successful of the team’s three primary backs was once again Sony Michel: the rookie finished the day with 113 yards on the ground — his second 100-yard performance in as many career postseason games — and helped New England control the pace of the game for most of the day.While Rex Burkhead and James White were a bit less successful from a per-play perspective, they still made their rushing attempts count — especially Burkhead. While he failed to pick up a 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter, the second-year Patriot bounced back nicely and scored both the go-ahead touchdown late in regulation as well as the game-winner in overtime.As the graphics above show, the Patriots found success no matter which direction they targeted. One thing that does stand out, however, is that all four touchdowns were scored on off-tackle runs (three of them coming behind the left side) which speaks for the job tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, and fullback James Develin were doing as run blockers.Receiver separationNFL Next Gen StatsThe Patriots’ wide receivers were pretty tightly covered for most of the day, with Cordarrelle Patterson’s 3.04 yards of separation on any given target leading the team. For comparison, Julian Edelman Kendarius Webster Jersey Boys , Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan — all of whom making big catches in crunch time — were not that wide open. However, Brady trusted them to make plays regardless and more often than not they did just that.Kansas City’s main receiving weapons, meanwhile, had a tougher time — especially the aforementioned Tyreek Hill. Playing a bracket coverage primarily with Jonathan Jones and Devin McCourty on the wideout, Patrick Mahomes targeted him just three times. Only one of the passes was completed for a 42-yard gain when Keion Crossen lost Hill behind him. For most of the day, however, he was removed from the contest by the Patriots’ defensive backfield.Pass protectionPass protection statisticsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriestwitter.com/jeffphoweDespite playing 97 snaps and playing on the road and going against the NFL’s best pass rushing team in terms of sacks, the Patriots’ offensive line kept Tom Brady mostly clean. He was neither sacked nor hit even once, and only hurried on four of his 46 drop-backs. In short: Dante Scarnecchia’s unit was outstanding, with the left side in particular standing out. Neither tackle Trent Brown nor guard Joe Thuney allowed any disruptions of the quarterback. A dominant outing by the duo and the rest of the line as well.Pass rush/run defensePass rush/run defense statisticsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesRun stopsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesRun stopstwitter.com/jeffphoweNew England made life hard on Patrick Mahomes, especially in the first half. Using a variety of stunts, blitzes, and other pressure packages, the Patriots registered 18 disruptions on the day: Mahomes was sacked four times, hit eight times Infant Chase Winovich Jersey , and hurries six times. The standout performers were the usual suspects Kyle Van Noy and Trey Flowers, who registered a combined 10 pressures on just 35 dropbacks. New England was outstanding up front for most of the day.Defensive rush directionNFL Next Gen StatsWith Kansas City falling behind 14-0 in the first half, the team was pretty much forced to abandon the run quickly. On the day, the team registered just twelve carries with only ten of them coming from a running back: Damien Williams, who was very good as a receiving back — he finished with five catches for 66 yards and two scores — but ran for just 30 yards on the day. The disparity in time of possession is a result of this: New England held the football for almost 44 minutes compared to the Chiefs’ 20:53.Pass rush separationNFL Next Gen StatsIt is no stretch of the imagination to say that New England won Sunday’s game in the trenches — and this graphic illustrates it perfectly. While the Patriots’ defenders were able to get close to the quarterback on any given pass rushing down, the Chiefs’ tremendous pass rush was kept in check all day long. There are multiple reasons for that beyond just the individual play of the men listed, though.Offensively, the Patriots kept Kansas City honest with a healthy mix of run and pass while Tom Brady also was able to get rid of the football fairly quickly. Furthermore, New England’s conditioning played a big role as the players appeared to be at full strength deep into the game and its overtime period. On the other side of the ball, meanwhile, the team’s creative blitz and pass rushing schemes put pressure on the offensive line and by extension Patrick Mahomes.Pass coveragePass coverage statisticsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingPass BreakupsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingPass Breakupstwitter.com/jeffphoweNew England’s coverage statistics do not look outstanding but going against the NFL’s best passing offense they should still be seen as a success. Linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower both gave up touchdowns, but were otherwise solid in playing downhill in the passing game or taking away the underneath zones. Likewise, the secondary had a good day when it comes to taking away primary weapons Hill and Kelce and forcing Mahomes to go through his reads and to secondary targets like Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams. Daily news and links for Monday" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePats Pulpita New England Patriots communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpPatriots NewsOpinion and AnalysisContribute!About the SiteTopicsPatriotsOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementFiled under:Patriots NewsNew England Patriots LinksNew England Patriots links 6/03/19 - Mini camp, many questionsNew,19commentsDaily news and links for MondayEDTShareTweetShareShareNew England Patriots links 6/03/19 - Mini camp Chase Winovich Jersey Draft , many questionsIsaiah Wynn #76, from preseason last August Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty ImagesLOCAL LINKSMike Reiss shares some quick-hit weekend thoughts: Patriots to receive Super Bowl rings on Thursday night; Soundbites from Shane Vereen; N’Keal Harry would beak the mold as punt returner; More. /Always an interesting read.Ryan Hannable’s Sunday 7: Tom Brady’s contract could be topic of discussion this week; 3. There will be four QBs at the minicamp sessions this week, which could make it tough to get everyone equal reps; More.Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Sunday Patriots news, AFC East notes: Questions for this week’s minicamp and beyond; More./Good read.Karen Guregian spotlights five areas of concern heading into the Patriots’ three-day mandatory minicamp that starts Tuesday. 1. Tom Brady’s primary bodyguard.Evan Lazar’s Patriots Minicamp Primer: Quarterbacks highlight competitive week; More.Doug Kyed’s Patriots Minicamp Preview: Tom Brady’s presence looks to make life more difficult for DBs; More.Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry go 3 & Out: 1. Who was the best free agent addition this offseason?Phil Perry puts together his pre-minicamp 53-man roster projection. How RB Damien Harris factors into the mix will be one of the most interesting offensive storylines this spring and summer.Mike Reiss notes Rob Gronkowski said he is happy in retirement and thinks talk of a comeback should be put to rest.Ryan Hannable gives us the latest with Kyle Rudolph, and whether Patriots have any shot of landing him.Mike Reiss tells the story of Patrick Chung’s kept promise to a Montana boy going through cancer treatment. /Nice story.Ryan Hannable posts a video clip from Tom Brady throwing a TD pass to Julian Edelman at his annual Best Buddies football game Friday night at Harvard Stadium.NESN shares a video of Tom Brady posted of himself working out and doing sprints with a resistance band in the sand at Baker’s Bay Club in the Bahamas. /Not my idea of a vacation in the Bahamas.Ryan Hannable reports that N’Keal Harry threw an impressive first pitch at the Pawtucket Red Sox game Friday night.Matt St. Jean (YouTube!) NFL Draft Breakdown: CB Joejuan Williams (23.39 min. video)David Latham (LastWordOnSports) Greatest Patriots by jersey number: 99 Mike Wright - 98 Trey Flowers - 97 Jarvis Green.Kevin Duffy details Tom Brady and his teammates taking the field at the annual Best Buddies Challenge.Kevin Slane finds Tom Brady in midseason form at the Best Buddies game.Nancy Lane posts some photos of Rob Gronkowski shaving his head for charity.Rick Sobey reports Julian Edelman’s Instagram account was hacked on Sunday.Adam London relays Willie McGinest as he sheds light on his first time meeting Bill Belichick.Dakota Randall notes ex-Patriot WR Chris Hogan tells fan he left New England because ‘they moved on’ and he ‘had to as well’.NATIONAL NEWSAlbert Breer (SI) Monday Morning QB: Jared Goff isn’t hiding from that Super Bowl stumble. /But he’s prob still hiding from Hightower and KVN.Fred Guadelli (ProFootballTalk) Guest FMIA: A week in the life of Sunday Night Football.Conor Orr (SI) Morning Huddle: Would having Peyton Manning in the booth make MNF appointment viewing? /It’s ‘appointment viewing’ because of the matchup, it’s football, and mostly in spite of the booth.Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) NFL insider notes: Why neither an 18-game season nor a lockout will happen, the Hail Mary mystery and more.NFL Nation (ESPN) Mandatory NFL minicamps preview: Nine things to watch this week. Tom Brady returns to camp.Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) Rob Gronkowski talks about retirement, addresses comeback speculation.MMQB Staff (SI) Which NFL teams got worse this offseason? Patriots included. /Bringing it early, eh?Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Brian Flores, Trey Flowers to attend as Patriots get their rings.John Breech (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL schedules by distance: Raiders hit the hardest by travel miles, Jets have it easiest. Patriots have 5th fewest travel miles.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Bill Belichick rattles off Patriots players who would have been good at lacrosse.Josh Gerben (GerbenLaw) Tom Brady files trademarks for “Tom Terrific”.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Third-round negotiations become the NFL’s “wild, wild West”.Doug Farrar (TouchdownWire) The NFL’s 11 best slot defenders. No. 6. Stephon Gilmore.NFL Nation (ESPN) Progress reports for all 32 NFL first-round picks. Patriots N’Keal Harry: ‘Reporters have seen one practice to this point, and Harry was active as a pass-catcher. ... Bill Belichick also referred to Harry as smart in terms of learning the Patriots’ offense’.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The 10 NFL players who need to break out in 2019.Nathan Brown (TheAdvocate) Two-time Super Bowl champ Malcom Brown already ‘having fun’ with new-look Saints defensive line.Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Competition Committee wants Hail Mary to be “survival of the fittest”.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Dungy: “Ridiculous” to have different PI standards for “Hail Mary” plays.EXTRACURRICULARRikki Reyna (NY Daily News) Former Jets star Muhammad Wilkerson busted for drunk driving.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Pepper Johnson will serve as defensive coordinator of XFL’s L.A. franchise.