Passer rating differential is the most reliable indicator of championship potential in all of North American sports. It’s the mother of all stats.
And the picture she paints for the Patriots is a hazy, confusing splotch of pigskin impressionism. With a full complement of weapons early in the season, the Pats were one of the NFL’s dominant statistical powers. The trend since then has been sharply downward, a spiral that began not with the 2-4 record since Thanksgiving but as early as Week 6.
The Patriots reached their statistical peak following their 30-6 rout of Dallas in Week 5.