The 2015 Patriots by Patriots Standards

By Tom GowerOct 14, 2015, 4:31 PM EDT

The New England Patriots again look like one of the best teams in the league. They are 4-0 after their first four games. Unlike some of their undefeated brethren, they are winning in dominant fashion. They have outscored their opponents by 73 points, most in the NFL, and have held a three-score lead in the third quarter of every game.

This is far from the first great-looking Patriots team we have seen in the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era. Just how does this team compare to those other great teams? How is it the same? How is it different? What do those teams suggest about how likely this team is to keep up its greatness?

Comparing Past Patriots Teams Through Four Games

This Patriots team is really good, even by the standards of past Patriots teams. Table 1 has the basic details, including comparisons to every New England squad over the past decade that has earned a first-round bye.

Table 1. Patriots Bye Teams Through Four Weeks, Conventional Statistics

Season	Early Record	Margin	Record in Last 12 Games	Final Record
2007	4-0	+100	12-0	16-0
2015	4-0	+73	?	?
2013	4-0	+32	8-4	12-4
2011	3-1	+37	10-2	13-3
2010	3-1	+35	11-1	14-2
2012	2-2	+42	10-2	12-4
2014	2-2	-10	10-2	12-4

This is just the third unbeaten team through the first quarter of the season. The unbeaten 2013 Patriots were a normal unbeaten, like this year’s Carolina and Denver squads, with a number of close wins — 2007, though, was on a different level. This year’s Patriots has taken big leads in every game, but allowed Pittsburgh and Buffalo to narrow the gap for eventual one-score wins. In 2007, by contrast they won each of their first four games by at least 21 points.

Advanced stats concur with the basic details of the table above. Here are those same squads as of the same time in the season by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric.

Table 2. Patriots Bye Teams Through Four Weeks, Advanced Statistics

Season	DVOA Through 4 Games (rank)	Final DVOA (rank)
2007	73.4% (1st)	52.9% (1st)
2015	55.9% (1st)	?
2013	13.4% (7th)	18.9% (5th)
2011	29.1% (2nd)	22.8% (3rd)
2010	32.5% (1st)	44.6% (1st)
2012	31.6% (3rd)	34.9% (3rd)
2014	-5.8% (23rd)	22.1% (4th)

The 2015 team comes out roughly equidistant from the ridiculous greatness of the early season 2007 Patriots and the more normal greatness of the 2010, 2011, and 2012 Patriots. These teams all had flaws (the 2012 Patriots were just 2-2), but each had pretty decisively defeated a couple opponents.

What Makes This Patriots Team Different

It probably comes as no surprise the 2015 Patriots have the best offense in the league through the first five weeks of the season. It should not have. This is actually the fifth time in the seven seasons we are considering they are the best through four games. But football is about more than having a great offense. What makes this Patriots team better than some of the editions from the recent past is their defense.

Table 3 shows the same Patriots teams and their DVOA through their first four games for each of the three phases of football.

Table 3. Patriots Bye Teams by Offense, Defense, and Special Teams DVOA Through Four Weeks

Season	Offensive DVOA (rank)	Defensive DVOA (rank)	ST DVOA (rank)
2007	46.6% (1st)	-20.9% (3rd)	5.9% (9th)
2015	38.1% (1st)	-8.7%(9th)	9.1% (3rd)
2013	2.6% (15th)	-5.0% (14th)	5.8% (4th)
2011	38.4% (1st)	11.3% (27th)	2.0% (11th)
2010	32.2% (1st)	13.4% (27th)	4.6% (4th)
2012	33.2% (1st)	-1.7%(18th)	-3.3% (24th)
2014	-17.0% (28th)	-8.0% (10th)	3.2% (9th)

This year’s offense is good, no question, but it was just as good in 2011 and nearly as good in 2010 or 2012. The special teams unit is particularly good, but it has been good most years. What sets this Patriots team apart from most of the non-2007 squads is the defense, which is the best it has been.

Just how good the defense has been early has been a surprise, since it seemed reasonable to expect the Patriots’ defense to decline with the losses of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, and Kyle Arrington. One of the league’s best pass-rushes has helped cover up for the revamped secondary, and the pass defense on the whole has been outstanding. And, no, Brandon Weeden is not too big a factor; looking just at the other games, the Patriots still have a top ten pass defense.

What It Means for the Rest of the Season

Looking at Table 2, the good news is most Patriots teams have actually gotten better as the season goes on because Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches in the league and learns and adapts more to what that year’s personnel grouping does best.

The past 26 seasons of DVOA suggest, though, that it is difficult to be powered too much by one unit, and the best teams are outstanding in all three phases. The 2007 team is a great example of that. The offense was outstanding all year, but the defense declined. For that team to finish 16-0 required a number of close calls, and they faltered when the offense put up just 14 points in the Super Bowl.

The best team since 1989 by DVOA is actually 1991 Washington. Joe Gibbs’ last Super Bowl outfit was not incredibly dominant in any single phase, but instead had the league’s best offense and special teams and the third-best defense.

The key for just how good this year’s Patriots can be is whether the defense can hold up for all 16 games, like last year’s unit but unlike 2007’s. The early season offensive struggles in 2013 and 2014 suggest keeping Rob Gronkowski healthy is pretty important, too. Do both of those, and another 16-0 season is on the table.

Sunday Night Football odds: Eagles laying touchdown against Cowboys

OddsSharkNov 10, 2018, 12:51 AM EST

The fact that the Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a bye while the Dallas Cowboys had a short week to work on their road woes should tip off straight-up bettors, but the spread might be another story.

The Eagles, led by quarterback Carson Wentz, are 7-point favorites on the Sunday Night Football odds against the Cowboys with a 43.5-point total at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Philadelphia is 16-3 straight-up and 12-6-1 against the spread in its last 19 games after having at least a full week off, while Dallas is 0-9 SU in its last nine games after playing the Monday prior.

Dallas carries a good head-to-head trend of being 5-1 SU and ATS in their last six road games at Philadelphia, according to the OddsShark NFL Database, and is also 6-3 ATS in its last nine road games as an underdog of 6.5 or more points.

The Cowboys are 3-5 both SU and ATS after a home loss against the Houston Texans on Monday. Dallas and quarterback Dak Prescott have habitually struggled to score points on the road, and a nicked-up offensive line faces a very strong Eagles defensive line led by tackle Fletcher Cox. For all the formidability of its front four, though, the Eagles are giving up 4.5 yards per rush and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott should find some room to the outside as both a rusher and pass receiver.

Dallas will be without wide receiver Tavon Austin (groin) and will need more out of Amari Cooper in the passing phase as the ex-Oakland Raider enters his second game for the Cowboys.

The Eagles, who are 4-4 SU and 3-5 ATS and need the win to have any reasonable chance at defending their Super Bowl crown, are 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS over their last eight games at night. Bettors’ confidence in the Eagles’ offensive capabilities might come down to the health of right tackle Lane Johnson (knee), who is expected to play and provide resistance to the Dallas pass rush.

Quarterback Carson Wentz now has wide receiver Golden Tate, recently acquired via trade, in his arsenal against a Cowboys pass defense that allows the sixth-worst opponents’ passer rating (101.1) in the NFL.

The ground game has generated middling results for the Eagles, who are still hoping either Corey Clement or Wendell Smallwood can take a lead role. Dallas also allows the second-least yards per rush in the NFL, which is a small reason to think the Cowboys will offer some resistance by forcing Wentz into obvious passing downs.

Wentz will likely face some long-yardage scenarios, though, as the Cowboys allow the second-least yards per carry.

There are pronounced UNDER trends in this matchup. The total has gone UNDER in the Cowboys’ last three games against the Eagles, with an average combined score of 30.67 points. The total has gone UNDER in the Cowboys’ last eight games on the road, with an average combined score of 31.25 points. And the total has gone UNDER in eight of the Eagles’ last nine games at home, with an average combined score of 31.89 points.

For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.

NFL Week 6 odds: Bengals, Eagles, Patriots are all betting favorites

OddsSharkOct 11, 2018, 8:43 AM EDT

The Cincinnati Bengals usually handle struggling teams, but it’s fair to wonder if that trend will be cancelled out by their long-running difficulties against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals, led by quarterback Andy Dalton, are 2.5-point favorites against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the NFL Week 6 odds with a 53-point total at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

According to the OddsShark NFL Database, it is only the sixth time in the last 14 seasons that the AFC North-leading Bengals are favored at home against the Steelers, but they are 14-4 straight-up in their last 18 home games against teams with losing records, and are also 6-1 SU and against the spread in their last seven games.

The Steelers, 2-2-1 SU on the season, have dominated the matchup with a 16-2 SU record in their last 18 road games against the Bengals, but they are also 1-6 ATS in their last seven games in the early afternoon.

The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-point road favorites against the New York Giants with a 43-point total for the Thursday Night Football matchup. The Eagles are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 games against the Giants. The total has gone OVER in the Eagles’ last five games against the Giants, with an average combined score of 54.6. The Giants are 2-8 SU and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games.

The Seattle Seahawks are 3-point favorites against the Oakland Raiders with a 48-point total in a matchup at Wembley Stadium in London. The Seahawks, who will be idle in Week 7, are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games before a bye. The Raiders are 2-5 SU and 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games before a bye. The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the Raiders’ last 12 games, with an average combined score of 43.33.

The Chicago Bears are 3-point road favorites against the Miami Dolphins with a 42-point total. The Bears are 1-9 SU in their last 10 games on the road against teams with winning records. The total has gone UNDER in five of the Bears’ last seven games, with an average combined score of 37.43. The Dolphins are 0-7-1 ATS in their last eight games at home after consecutive road games.

The Washington Redskins are 1-point favorites against the Carolina Panthers with a 44.5-point total. The Panthers are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against the Redskins. The Redskins are 3-10 SU in their last 13 games in Week 6. The total has gone UNDER in four of the Redskins’ last five games in the early afternoon.

The Los Angeles Rams are 7-point road favorites against the Denver Broncos with a 52.5-point total. The Rams are 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games in the late afternoon. The total has gone OVER in eight of the Rams’ last 10 games on the road, with an average combined score of 54.5. The Broncos are 4-13 SU and 2-14-1 ATS in their last 17 games.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 3-point road favorites against the Dallas Cowboys with a 40.5-point total. The Jaguars are 4-22 SU and 6-20 ATS in their last 26 games in the late afternoon. The Cowboys are 0-5 SU and ATS in their last five games in the late afternoon.

The New England Patriots are 3.5-point favorites against the Kansas City Chiefs with a 59.5-point total in the Sunday Night Football matchup. The Chiefs have covered in every game so far this season and are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games after consecutive ATS wins. The total has gone OVER in 10 of the Chiefs’ last 14 games at night. The Patriots are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games at night.

And the Green Bay Packers are 9.5-point road favorites against the San Francisco 49ers with a 46.5-point total for Monday night’s game. The 49ers are 0-14 SU and 5-9 ATS in their last 14 road games as an underdog of 7.5 or more points. The Packers are 8-2 SU and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 home games as a favorite of 7.5 or more points.