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New England Patriots Stock Watch: Offensive Line Stinks

By Cyrus Geller

Jan 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) is sacked by Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller (58) in the second half in the AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) is sacked by Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller (58) in the second half in the AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here is the final stock watch of the 2015-16 season for the New England Patriots:

Up

Defense

Nobody is really going to talk about it, but the Pats’ defense played awesome in this game, specifically in the second half. Denver was only able to get 3 points, 83 yards, and 4 first downs in the final half, as New England completely suffocated Peyton Manning and company. They are the only reason the Patriots stayed in the game as long as they did.

Takeaways from AFC Championship Game loss

Rob Gronkowski

Absolute beast. 8 catches, 155 yards and a touchdown while being double and triple-teamed all game long. His two fourth down catches on New England’s final drive were about as clutch as it gets. Props to the big man.

Down

Offensive Line

The number one reason the Pats lost this game was because of how poorly the offensive line played. Tom Brady didn’t have any time to throw, as he was sacked four times, and hit a whopping 20 times by Denver’s front four. Brady didn’t have a great game himself, but the offensive line didn’t even give him much of a chance.

2015 Failure was a long time coming   

Julian Edelman/James White

It was reported that Edelman was limping badly in the locker room after the game, so that might have been a reason why he wasn’t as effective yesterday, but regardless, him not getting involved hurt this offense. 7 catches for 53 yards just wasn’t good enough for Edelman against a defense like this, especially on a day where the offensive line really struggled. And as for James White? 5 catches on 16 targets. Bad. Very bad.

Next: Top 15 Patriots Moments of 2015 Regular Season

Stephen Gostkowski

I feel bad for the dude, but he picked an awful time to finally miss an extra point. He shouldn’t have to shoulder all the blame like he said post-game, but this one is going to hurt him for awhile.

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