Big moves, big results: Patriots' offseason played major role in AFC title
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady ensured their prominent places in the annals of football history long ago, and with the New England Patriots advancing to Super Bowl LII, their legacies will be revisited, re-litigated, and revised ad nauseam for the next two weeks.
Belichick and Brady deserve the accolades they will be showered with, but the story of Sunday's AFC title game against the Jacksonville Jaguars centered around the Patriots' newest contributors. While the head coach-quarterback duo has created the franchise's aura of invincibility, the AFC juggernaut would not be flying to Minnesota if it wasn't for a legion of fresh faces acquired last offseason.
Let's start with Brandin Cooks. In March, the Patriots landed Cooks and a fourth-round selection from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for 2017 first-and third-round picks. Selected 20th overall in 2014, Cooks turned just 24 in September and recorded nearly 1,200 yards in 2016. However, he was feuding with other Saints receivers. By capitalizing on the turmoil, Belichick managed to get his best downfield threat since Randy Moss.
This savvy move paid dividends Sunday. Cooks led the Patriots with six catches on eight targets for 100 yards, and his role expanded significantly when Rob Gronkowski left the game with a head injury. Facing a Jaguars secondary with two Pro Bowl cornerbacks in Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, Cooks' world-class speed added a wrinkle to the Patriots' offense that it lacked in the past. Even when he didn't have the ball, the threat of Cooks' speed created chances for the Patriots' other wide receivers. In retrospect, it seems almost unfair that New England could have added such a weapon by taking advantage of another team.
And it wasn't just stars who contributed to the offense. Phillip Dorsett, acquired in a September trade with the Indianapolis Colts, caught a 32-yard pass on a flea flicker that helped spur the fourth-quarter comeback. A former first-round pick, Dorsett's become an afterthought over his first three seasons in the league. In a single play Sunday, however, he justified the Patriots' aggression in acquiring him. The sparingly used 25-year-old caught just 12 passes during the regular season, but role players who would be buried on other teams always seem to find their moment in the spotlight with the Patriots.
New England's defense, meanwhile, has been a referendum topic all season, with some arguing that a relative lack of star power would eventually spell the team's playoff demise. Stephon Gilmore - who left the Buffalo Bills and signed a five-year, $65-million contract that contradicts the Patriots' usual frugality - became the face of this debate, especially after he got off to a slow start with his new team. So of course Gilmore submitted perhaps his best game of the season Sunday, recording five tackles and an acrobatic pass deflection on fourth-and-14 with just under two minutes remaining, securing the victory.
"To come from where I came from last year, signing here, to coming to a great team with great teammates and great coaches, I love it here. It's the reason why I came here," Gilmore said after the game. It certainly appears the feeling is mutual.
New England also received key performances from Lawrence Guy (six tackles, sack) who signed a four-year, $20-million deal March 11, and James Harrison (three tackles, one quarterback hit), who signed Dec. 26. There's obviously some benefit to being coached by the greatest defensive coach in history (sorry, Matt Patricia - that's Belichick), but a group that underwhelms on paper is playing better than the sum of its parts.
At the time, the Patriots were judged to have aced the offseason, leading some to believe they'd go undefeated. While that feat eluded New England, some of the team's acquisitions have already made bigger playoff contributions than anyone could have expected.