The New England Patriots did win 12 games this past season, and they did capture their 11th straight AFC East division title. But their 2019-20 campaign ended with their earliest playoff exit in 10 years, as the Patriots fell to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card Round.
The Patriots' problems this past year were obvious: their offense flat out stunk.
Sure, injuries played a role, but at its core, New England simply did not have enough top-end talent on the offensive side of the ball, and at 42 years old, Tom Brady was no longer dominant enough to compensate for it.
With the season now in their rearview mirror, here are three Pats stats to take note of from 2019.
3. 106.4 Rushing Yards Per Game
In 2018, the Patriots ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 127.3 yards on the ground per game. In 2019, they dropped to 18th in the league, logging 106.4 rushing yards per contest.
While that isn't terrible, it certainly isn't good, and given how much New England's aerial attack struggled this past season, its lack of a consistent ground game was a death blow for its offense.
Sony Michel was not nearly as productive as he was during his rookie campaign, recording just 3.7 yards per carry. Otherwise, the Pats got very little from the rest of their running backs, with Rex Burkhead totaling 306 yards and James White finishing with 263. Rookie back Damien Harris, who was expected by many to get significant playing time, was a non-factor.
The Patriots need to hope that Harris breaks through in 2020, or they need to address their lack of a rushing attack this offseason.
2. The Patriots' Second-Leading Wide Receiver Had 397 yards
Julian Edelman was terrific as usual this past season, hauling in 100 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns in spite of battling multiple injuries.
But outside of Edelman, New England's receiving corps was barren.
Article Continues BelowAs a matter of fact, the Pats' second-leading wide out was Phillip Dorsett, who finished with a meager 397 yards on the season. He is set to be a free agent next month, and the Patriots probably won't be bringing him back.
Obviously, this is not how things were supposed to go, as New England did not anticipate having to waive Josh Gordon midseason, and it certainly hoped that Antonio Brown didn't do anything detrimental (but that was always a losing battle).
Also, the Pats definitely were expecting more from rookie receiver N'Keal Harry, who spent most of his debut season on injured reserve and finished with just 12 catches.
1. 37 Catches From Tight Ends
In 2018, Rob Gronkowski caught 47 passes in what was a down year for him. He proceeded to retire last offseason, leaving the Patriots to scramble for options at tight end.
They settled on Matt LaCosse and Benjamin Watson, and it did not go over very well, as LaCosse and Watson combined for just 30 catches in 2019, and New England got just 37 grabs from its tight ends as a whole.
So Gronkowski, in a lackluster season for his standards in 2018, outproduced the Pats' entire stable of tight ends in 2019.
This is clearly an area of major concern that the Pats will have to address in free agency and/or through the draft.