One thing we learned from the New England Patriots' Super Bowl loss against the Philadelphia Eagles was that team lacked quality along the defensive front seven to win the battle in the trenches against an elite offensive line. While the unit did feature very good players like Trey Flowers, its depth options – Elandon Roberts, Deatrich Wise Jr., Adam Butler – were too inconsistent to disrupt the Eagles' offensive rhythm.
This was nothing new but instead the culmination of a season-long trend, especially when it came to defending the pass: The Patriots' front seven, according to Pro Football Focus, registered a mere 13.