Who watched that game and realized we blew a cake walk to the superbowl

They do not.

The Patriots two leading rushers totaled 1,514 yards on 310 carries, averaging 4.8 YPC. They scored 16 rushing TDs and had 13 20+yard rushes.

The Texans two leading rushers totaled 1,209 yards on 318 carries, averaging 3.8 YPC. They scored 5 rushing TDs and had 5 20+yard rushes.

These are not, by any measure, the same, and you continuing to claim they are leaves us with only two possible explanations: you're being willfully ignorant or you can't count.

 

Again, there’s context.
Before the last game of the season, the Pats were almost identical in numbers to us.
I posted the entire numbers so you can see.
There isn’t a huge difference whatsoever.

That’s also not factoring in Maye being a much more dynamic threat than CJ while not having the same receiving threats CJ has. Which opens up the run game.
You are so ridiculously biased that you can’t see this.

 

Got it. You can't count.

The Patriots' running backs did not, on the final Sunday of the season, outgain the Texans' running backs by ~300 yards, score 11 more TDs, and total ~8 20+-yard runs.

I'm so ridiculously biased, says the guy who has hitched his wagon to, "I can't count" as a counter-argument....

 

No, you’re using 300 yds over the course of 17 games, most of which was the last game of the season to make excuses for your pride and joy.

Maye is a much better QB, that got more out of less, while being sacked at a much higher rate.

 

So weird that people are doing mental gymnastics trying to make excuses for CJ Stroud being ass.

 

Yes, I'm using 300 yards.... and touchdowns, and yards per carry, and number of explosive runs.... The Patriots running game was not only statistically better but significantly more dynamic. I can't believe I'm having to explain this to you.

New England's leading rusher averaged 5.1 yards per carry; Houston's leading rusher averaged 3.6 yards per carry. You really need to stop stating these are the same thing because doing so makes you look ignorant.

Drake Maye is a very good QB and had a terrific year. But as these playoffs have demonstrated, his year was more than a little aided by a historically easy schedule.

 

Just say you don’t understand what you’re watching and move on.
It’s ok.
Maye is a direct reason for why the Pats have won in the playoffs, even with the turnovers.

 

It's funny, you seem to realize what effect a super easy schedule can have when you are trying to make the case that Drake Maye isn't better than CJ Stroud....but you can't seem to understand how that super easy schedule might have accounted for more success on the ground.....

When you have to try this hard to make excuses for your guy, you just shouldn't.

CJ was a complete embarrassment. If you think he'll turn back into a competent QB one day, awesome....but you can't change the fact that he was pathetic.

 

Curious what part of this do you think I don't understand?

The Patriots offense has scored 16, 21 and 10 points. Maye has five TOs in three games and fumbled three other times. If you were listing the reasons behind the Patriots playoff run, he would rank somewhere significantly behind: Pats' defense; opponents shortcomings; weather. He's made some terrific, timely throws but he has not had a very good playoff at all.

 

Yet still SIGNIFICANTLY better than CJ Stroud who was a complete embarrassment.

That's the problem.

 

Watch the games.
Very easy to see Maye made plays when it mattered.
Elite throws against our defense.
And rushing against the Broncos that CJ can’t do.
Where was all this “help” in the playoffs?

 

I should watch the games?... Huh....

I have no idea what we're doing here... Drake Maye had a terrific year and a significantly better one than CJ Stroud. Drake Maye also has a much better offensive coordinator, a much better offensive line, a much better running game, and played an historically easy schedule.

So I will just copy and paste what I said initially: "He's made some terrific, timely throws but he has not had a very good playoff at all."

I thought you watched the games? His help has been on full display through three games.

 

You obviously aren’t watching the games.

But you keep on making every excuse possible for CJ.

 

Yes. Obviously.

Nobody was screaming for a new QB after the 2024 season: we wanted a new OC; we wanted more talent along the OL; most of us were concerned with the lack of playmakers beyond Collins (and knowing Dell and Mixon were hurt)...

- they hired an inexperienced offensive coordinator.
- By week 10, they had traded, cut or benched three of the five players they hand-picked to improve the OL after trading their best OL in the offseason.
- they replaced Mixon, Diggs and Dell with Chubb, Kirk and rookies.

These were all bad decisions and they created a less-than-ideal environment for a 23-year old QB coming off of a up/down season. To conveniently dismiss all these as excuses is disingenuous bullshit.

 

Excuses is all you have.
Blame everyone but CJ

 

You can't count and you can't read......

... because I've repeatedly posted my concerns with CJ's playoff performance and the possible ramifications. You, otoh, have never - not once - acknowledged that however good CJ Stroud may or may not be, that the Texans have made the process of discovering that significantly more difficult. Rather than engaging with those very legitimate issues, you dismiss those as "excuses" so you can stay mad.

I've seen good CJ Stroud, and I believe that player is still viable. And that if the offense was in competent hands, it would be a lot easier to find that version of him again. But it is not and thus, we're stuck in this frustrating purgatory.

 

You don’t know sport.
But that’s ok. Keep up with the excuses, so biased you can’t even see how wrong you are

 

I heard that New Englands "stuff rate" against Woody was the second highest of the season in the league. Of his 14 carries, 8 went for ZERO yards or less. And then CJ was an abortion. One thing that has hurt has been Nick's repeated misses on OL draft picks. Overall I think that Nick has done a solid job, just not good enough to get us to the Super Bowl.

 

I thought that and then remembered the game was in a blizzard and Stroud probably would have thrown 3 INT’s that allowed Denver to get by.

So I didn’t watch that game thinking that.

Even if they managed to get by New England I think the emotional toll would have impacted CJ too much against an even better defense.

 

The offense is an ABORTION. CJ was garbage. The OL was garbage. Woody was garbage. Stover was garbage. Hutchinson was garbage. The play calling was garbage.

The good news is that we're going to get an infusion of talent, CJ is going to get fixed, Caley is getting a lobotomy, and luck is coming our way this fall!