Life is good for the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick's squad is 3-0, has the top spot in ESPN's Power Rankings and has an offense performing at the type of level causing talk that this club can go undefeated.
As great as that platoon is, keep this in mind -- shootouts are relatively low-percentage plays even for the most powerful offenses in NFL history. Since the league went to a 16-game season in 1978, 17 teams have scored 500 or more points in a season. Those teams were nearly unbeatable when allowing fewer than 24 points (181-11) but didn't even win two of three when giving up 24 or more points (75-46).
That could be a problem for New England, as its defense is playing at a subpar level in so many areas that some shootouts are all but assured in its future.
Vertical pass problems
It starts with vertical passing, which is defined as aerials thrown 11 or more yards downfield. After the first two weeks of the season, New England's defense ranked 23rd in Total QBR on vertical throws (96.4). That number dramatically improved with a 5.3 Total QBR allowed on vertical passes versus a Jacksonville offense that currently ranks 22nd in vertical yards per attempt (10.4) and 30th in vertical completion percentage (35.0 percent).
What these last numbers likely mean is that New England's sudden improvement in vertical pass defense probably had a lot more to do with facing a weak opponent than it did dramatic upgrades in deep pass coverage.