The New England Patriots’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders saw the team play a familiar game: control the rhythm and tempo on the offensive side of the ball, and consistently put the heat on the opponent when on defense. As the advanced stats from the Patriots’ 36-20 victory illustrate, they were able to do both consistently enough to gain control of the game despite quarterback Cam Newton not playing on as high a level as he did in Weeks 1 and 2.
Before taking a look at the numbers, however, we will have to explain two of the categories you will meet here that extend beyond conventional statistics:
- OSR: OSR stands for “Offensive Success Rate” and is based on Bill Connelly’s work at SB Nation. It aims to characterize how successful a play was relative to the down and distance in which it took place. For a play be considered a success it will have to gain at least 50 percent of the necessary yardage on first down (i.e. at least 5 yards on 1st-and-10), 70 percent on second down (i.e. at least 7 yards on 2nd-and-10), and 100 percent on both third and fourth down (i.e. at least 10 yards on 3rd-and-10 and 4th-and-10).
- EPA: EPA stands for “Expected Points Added” and is based on the work done by Ben Baldwin through his website rbsdm.com. EPA aims at measuring the value of individual offensive plays in terms of points by calculating what is expected to happen on an individual play depending on down, distance, field position and game situation and contrasting it with the eventual outcome.
With that being said, let’s dig into the stats.
Quarterbacks
Quarterback statistics
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Drops | Throwaways | Pressure rate | Rating | OSR | EPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Drops | Throwaways | Pressure rate | Rating | OSR | EPA |
Cam Newton | 69 | 28 | 17 | 162 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18.8% | 73.8 | 42.9% | -1.8 |
After back-to-back impressive performances, Cam Newton, as noted above, had a slight off-day as a passer against Las Vegas. The first-year Patriot was unable to establish a consistent rhythm with his targets — at least those not named Rex Burkhead — and was off the mark more than once. His OSR and EPA numbers of 42.9 and -1.8 reflect this, as does the fact that he himself would grade his performance as a C.
Newton was not bad by any means, but he was unable to duplicate the success he had as a downfield passer one week earlier against the Seattle Seahawks.
Ball carriers
Ball carrier statistics
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Yards | Yards after Contact | Touchdowns | Fumbles | OSR | EPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Yards | Yards after Contact | Touchdowns | Fumbles | OSR | EPA |
Cam Newton | 69 | 6 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.3% | -2.0 |
Julian Edelman | 56 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | -0.8 |
N'Keal Harry | 46 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | -0.3 |
Rex Burkhead | 32 | 6 | 49 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 83.3% | 5.2 |
Sony Michel | 26 | 9 | 117 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 44.4% | 5.2 |
J.J. Taylor | 15 | 11 | 43 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 54.5% | 2.0 |
Isaiah Zuber | 6 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.9 |
While the Patriots’ aerial attack had its ups and downs, the team’s ball carriers shouldered the load versus Las Vegas. Not every run was a success as the OSR numbers show, but New England’s top three backs — Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead and J.J. Taylor — were able to post some impressive numbers on the ground. Aided by a terrific offensive line performance even without starting center David Andrews, the team gained a combined 253 yards on just 35 carries.
Pass receivers
Pass receiver statistics
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Yards after Catch | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating | Drops | OSR | EPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Yards after Catch | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating | Drops | OSR | EPA |
Damiere Byrd | 66 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 104.2 | 0 | 33.3% | 1.5 |
Julian Edelman | 56 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 45.8 | 0 | 33.3% | -2.5 |
N'Keal Harry | 46 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 0 | 50.0% | 1.5 |
Ryan Izzo | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 1 | 0.0% | -1.0 |
Rex Burkhead | 32 | 10 | 7 | 49 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 74.6 | 0 | 40.0% | -2.3 |
Sony Michel | 26 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 114.6 | 0 | 100.0% | 1.6 |
Jakob Johnson | 18 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91.7 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.3 |
J.J. Taylor | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 1 | 0.0% | -0.8 |
New England’s running backs also stood out in the receiving game. While J.J. Taylor dropped his lone target, Sony Michel and especially Rex Burkhead had productive days as receivers out of the backfield: Michel caught both his passes and took them for 23 yards; Burkhead led the team with 49 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches.
The other receivers had their ups and downs. Damiere Byrd was solid as his 100 percent catch rate shows, but only one of his three catches qualifies as a success. N’Keal Harry, meanwhile, had the Patriots’ longest catch of the day — a 27-yarder in the fourth quarter — but failed to connect with Cam Newton twice. Julian Edelman, on the other hand, caught just two of his six targets on the day after a career performance in Week 2.
Pass protection/run blocking
Pass protection/run blocking statistics
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
Jermaine Eluemunor | 69 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Shaq Mason | 69 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Michael Onwenu | 69 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Joe Thuney | 69 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Isaiah Wynn | 59 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Ryan Izzo | 43 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
New England’s offensive line had to rearrange its talent with center David Andrews being sent to injured reserve because of a fractured thumb on his right hand. Nevertheless, the unit had a strong game: led by new center Joe Thuney it surrendered just six quarterback pressures on 32 dropbacks and also was strong in the running game. While right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor had his ups and downs — he gave up two sacks, a hurry, and a stuffed run — the unit as a whole was impressive.
Pass rush/run defense
Pass rush/run defense statistics
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs | Fumbles forced | Fumbles recovered |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs | Fumbles forced | Fumbles recovered |
J.C. Jackson | 51 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Deatrich Wise Jr. | 39 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Lawrence Guy | 36 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Chase Winovich | 32 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Adam Butler | 29 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Shilique Calhoun | 27 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Derek Rivers | 16 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Patriots’ defensive front seven made life hard for the Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr: the veteran passer, who had a strong first two weeks of the season, was pressured on 11 of his 36 drop-backs for a disruption rate of 30.6 percent and lost the football on both of his sacks. Lawrence Guy and Deatrich Wise Jr. came away with the recoveries, the latter for a New England touchdown to effectively ice the game.
Pass coverage
Pass coverage statistics
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Pass Breakups | Pass interference | Rating | OSR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Pass Breakups | Pass interference | Rating | OSR |
Devin McCourty | 59 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39.6 | 0.0% |
Stephon Gilmore | 58 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 85.4 | 66.7% |
J.C. Jackson | 51 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 96.5 | 33.3% |
Jonathan Jones | 49 | 7 | 5 | 74 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 145.2 | 71.4% |
Ja'Whaun Bentley | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39.6 | 0.0% |
Jason McCourty | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 0.0% |
Adrian Phillips | 35 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 0.0% |
Chase Winovich | 32 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83.3 | 100.0% |
Shilique Calhoun | 27 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91.7 | 100.0% |
Terrence Brooks | 21 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 116.7 | 50.0% |
Brandon Copeland | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118.8 | 100.0% |
After Seahawks quarterback and potential MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson had a field day against New England’s secondary, the unit did bounce back a bit against Carr and company. He threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, but a significant portion of his production — 58 yards and one of his scores — came after the game was already out of reach and with the Patriots playing a prevent defense mostly built around zone coverage concepts.
All in all, New England’s coverage crew had a solid performance and held a potent passing game in check for most of the afternoon.