Julian Edelman is a Golden God and Other Mindblowing Patriots Facts
As your divine, Messianic leader, I say to you that the time to start looking ahead to the Rams and is coming soon. And yet, as the spiritual leader of this flock, I also remind you that the unexamined life is not worth living. The powers have granted us a extra week to reflect, take stock of where we are at, and fully appreciate how we got to this blessed place.
So before we prepare for the journey ahead, it’s important to spend some time living in the moment. And to facilitate that, I’m providing you with some fun facts that will not only help you better appreciate just what we are witness to, but also give you the scripture you need to go out and spread the word between now and the coming of Super Bowl LIII.
Julian Edelman is the God of Playoff 1st Downs.
Edelman has been in 17 postseason games. On 3rd & 4th down on those, he’s got 32 catches on 42 targets. That’s 76.2 percent. With 456 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT and 10.9 YPA, good for a 116.8 passer rating when targeted. (via @DeeepThreat)
On 3rd downs in the postseason, he has 32 receptions. He’s converted 30 of them into 1st downs. THIRTY. That’s a 93.75 percent conversion rate. (via @PatriotsSBLLI)
In his last nine postseason games, he’s had 95 or more yards in seven of them. To go with 51 rushing yards on 6 carries for 8.5 YPA and one touchdown pass. The Patriots are 8-1 in those games.
Edelman is only the second player in history to have 100 postseason receptions, putting him No. 2 all time behind only Jerry Rice. With 44 more yards he’ll move into the No. 2 spot ahead of Michal Irvin.
Remember these the next time you talk to someone who says the Pats can’t draft receivers or said Edelman could never replace Wes Welker.
Tom Brady Has Circumnavigated the Postseason Globe
Joe Montana was the greatest winner in NFL history, with 16 postseason wins. Brady currently stands 19 games over .500.
Meaning you could subtract Montana’s entire win total from Brady’s his record would still be 13-10. Brett Favre’s career playoff record is 13-11.
Brady has 29 wins, more than Peyton Manning (14) and John Elway (14) combined. He also has 10 losses, which is half as many as Manning (13) and Elway (7) combined.
Of those 29 wins, NINE include 4th quarter comebacks. Montana is 2nd all time with five. Brady has won that many games with a score on the final play, including twice in the Super Bowl. He’s also the only QB with three postseason overtime wins.
Brady’s road record in the playoffs is 7-4 a .636 percentage, the best ever. Ben Roethlisberger’s home record is also 7-4. [EDIT: The only way this is true is if the chart I lifted it from included three Super Bowls where the Pats were technically the “road” team. Still, it stays. Technically 7-4 is still 7-4.]
Brady is 11-8 in the playoffs when his defense allows more than 20 points. Kurt Warner was 5-3. No other QB is over .500. Peyton is 3-10 and Eli Manning is 0-4. (via @Davieyo)
Brady has now beaten FOUR No. 1 seeds on the road. Including the 2001 Steelers, the ‘04 Steelers, the ‘06 Chargers and now the Chiefs. Montana pulled the trick once, against the 1988 Bears. Peyton Manning never did. (@PatriotsSBLIII)
By himself, Brady has playoff wins than any franchise except for Pittsburgh, Dallas, Green Bay and San Francisco. (via @BostonSportsInf)
Then there’s this:
Not bad for a system quarterback.
The Patriots are … Successful.
The win over Kansas City ties them with Pittsburgh for the most postseason wins in history with 36. Their .643 winning percentage is the best by any franchise. (via @BostonSportsInf)
Considering that at the turn of the century the Steelers were 21-15 all time and the Patriots were 7-10, they’ve made up a lot of ground in one generation.
Miscellaneous:
Stephon Gilmore has five career playoff games with the Patriots and quarterbacks are 6 of 25 (24 percent completions) while targeting him. He has seven pass breakups and an interception. Meaning in the playoffs, he gets his hands on the ball more often the guy he’s covering. (via @JeffHowe)
So go forth, my children. Take these facts and spread The Word.
I’m sure I’ll have more before the week is out, but as starts – and stats – go, these are pretty good.