During the first half of Sunday's Super Bowl LX, the New England Patriots' defense has single-handedly kept them in the NFL's championship game. The Seattle Seahawks' offense has put together three solid drives en route to a 9-0 lead heading into halftime. While New England's defense has held up its end, ESPN Insights' X (formerly Twitter) page shared just how poorly the Pats offense has performed in the first quarter of their 10 Super Bowl appearances.
“The Patriots have scored a combined 3 points in the 1st quarter of their last 10 Super Bowl appearances, being outscored 27-3 in those games,” posted the stats-focused page during Sunday's big game.
While the Patriots' offense had played well during the regular season, the defense has been the driving force during their latest run to the Super Bowl. The unit put the offense in position to score multiple times in the Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. A snowstorm during the second half of their 10-7 AFC Championship Game win over the Denver Broncos helped the defense shut out the AFC's top seed in the final two quarters. Now, it will need to continue to step up to bail out New England's offense. Can offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels dial up an improved game plan for the final 30 minutes of Sunday's title matchup?
Patriots look to rebound from tough first half in Super Bowl LX
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had a standout first season under McDaniels, throwing for almost 4,400 yards en route to a runner-up finish in the NFL MVP race. His second campaign in the NFL showed that Maye could become the franchise signal caller that New England has lacked since former quarterback Tom Brady left after the 2019 season.
Yet so far in Super Bowl LX, the Patriots' miserable form offensively has continued. The unit hasn't looked nearly as lethal as it did during their AFC East title run in the regular season. McDaniels has been the architect of multiple Super Bowl-winning attacks. If they can reverse their first-half fortunes, then Maye will have a chance to lead New England to their seventh Lombardi Trophy.
