Stats Check for Pats/Jags

The New England Patriots will host the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday, and a win will clinch the AFC East. With that in mind, let’s see where the Patriots and Jaguars rank offensively and defensively in the NFL after last weekend’s games. All of these stats and more can be found on NFL.com’s stats page.

Total Offense (Yards Per Game)

Patriots, 2nd, 398.3 ypg……….Jaguars, 15th, 341.6 ypg (I find it interesting that despite Sunday’s poor output offensively that the Pats still rank 2nd in the league behind the Saints)

3rd Down Conversion Rate

Patriots, 8th, 43%……….Jaguars, 6th, 45%

Passing Yards Per Game

Patriots, 4th, 280.4 ypg……….Jaguars, 18th, 213 ypg

Rushing Yards Per Game

Patriots, 14th, 117.9 ypg……….Jaguars, 8th, 128.6 ypg

Rushing Yards Per Carry

Patriots, 24th (tied with several teams), 4.0 ypc……….Jaguars, 4th (tied), 4.5 ypc

Offensive Points Per Game

Patriots, 8th, 26.1 ppg……….Jaguars, 21st, 19 ppg

Defense Points Per Game Allowed

Patriots, 3rd (tied with the Bengals), 17.4 ppg……….Jaguars, 21st (tied with Bears), 23 ppg (With all the negativity surrounding how the defense has performed, the fact that they are ranked 3rd in the NFL is quite remarkable. Remember, points allowed is the most important defensive stat.)

Defense Yards Per Game

Patriots, 10th, 314.9 ypg……….Jaguars, 20th, 348.1 ypg

Defense Passing Yards Allowed

Patriots, 10th, 205.9 ypg……….Jaguars, 27th, 244.4 ypg

Defense Rushing Yards Allowed

Patriots, 15th, 109 ypg……….Jaguars, 12th, 103.7 ypg

Interceptions

The Pats and Jags are tied at 12th in the NFL with 15 total interceptions

With the Jaguars coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Colts and fighting for their playoff lives, it will be no easy task for the Patriots. Though you cannot subtract them, I think that these offensive stats for the Pats are a little skewed based on the fact that they blew away the Titans and Buccaneers earlier in the season. Those games seem like aberrations compared to the rest of the season. The Jags’ pass defense is a little more suspect than its rushing defense, the opposite of what the Pats faced last week. They have the horses to have a field day offensively with Brady, Moss, Welker, Faulk, and Watson, but can they? The running game will be a little harder to get going, though if Maroney keeps running like he has, he should find some success. Offensively, the stats really reflect where the strength of the Jags offense lies: in Maurice Jones-Drew and the running game. It will be interesting to see if they try and air it out more against the Pats’ weaker passing defense or if they stick with their bread and butter running game. David Garrard is no sloutch at QB and when he is on he can be deadly, and Mike Sims-Walker has really emerged as a pass-catching threat. Having Vince Wilfork available to slow down Jones-Drew will be essential if the Pats hope to de-claw the Jags.

More to come as we get closer to Sunday!

Go Pats!