Ahead of last summer\u2019s training camp, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained that he was looking at his team\u2019s performances in three distinct categories. There is the good, the bad, and, as he called it, the s\u2014t that gets you beat.<\/p>\n
The Patriots\u2019 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> in Super Bowl LX on Sunday mostly operated in those last two areas, but there was also some positive to take away from the game. So, if the coach wants to look at his team through the three categories he established, who are we to disagree? Let\u2019s break down the game in exactly that manner.<\/p>\n The good: Christian Gonzalez<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start off by highlighting some of the Patriots\u2019 positive performances against the Seahawks. DeMario Douglas finished with five catches, but did get open on more occasions than those. Mack Hollins made some big receptions on the team\u2019s first touchdown drive. Craig Woodson was a menace playing downhill. Milton Williams was disruptive as a pass rusher even though he only got home once. Anfernee Jennings made sure to leave it all on the field. The punt team did its job limiting dangerous returner Rashid Shaheed.<\/p>\n However, one man\u2019s contributions stand out among all of them. Christian Gonzalez was doing all he could to keep the Patriots in the game, and in a winning effort would have had a strong case<\/a> for the Super Bowl MVP award.<\/p>\n Playing 40 coverage snaps, Gonzalez finished the day with just one 16-yard catch given up on five targets. He went up against star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba 14 times in coverage and besides that one reception shut the newly-minted NFL Offensive Player of the Year down. Oh, and he also finished with three pass breakups, including a leaping, highlight-reel play on a well-thrown deep ball intended for Shaheed.<\/p>\n Gonzalez\u2019s progression this season should leave the Patriots excited about his future. He showed that he can excel regardless of coverage scheme but still put the clamps on anybody one-on-one, and that the team would be smart to lock him up sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Gonzalez is a prime extension candidate this offseason, and he showed why in the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n New England entered the Super Bowl having absolutely dominated in the ground game so far in the playoffs: in their previous three postseason games, opponents averaged only 71.3 yards against one of the toughest run defenses in the NFL. And yet, in the biggest game, the unit failed to deliver the goods.<\/p>\n Eventual Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker already surpassed that prior playoff average in the second quarter, and ended up finishing with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries for an average of 5.0 yards per run. With him as the focal point, the Seahawks were able to control the flow of the game offensively.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t do very well against the run game,\u201d Mike Vrabel said afterwards. \u201cWe didn\u2019t create any turnovers and missed some sacks, missed some tackles. Not well enough for us to win.\u201d<\/p>\n The s\u2014t that got them beat: Offensive synergy<\/p>\n For the first three quarters, Drake Maye and the Patriots offense were virtually non-existent. They showed some signs of life on their first two drives, gaining three combined first downs and advancing into Seahawks territory twice, but it all went downhill from that point on before a short-lived rebound in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n The problem for New England is that there was no one problem, but a multitude of issues all contributing to the offense going scoreless until it was too late.<\/p>\n