Numbers don’t lie. They can be manipulated and contextualised in ways to tell different stories, but there’s no doubting concrete figures.
With the New England Patriots meeting the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII on Sunday, here are 10 numbers to know – ranging from interesting but having little consequence, to significant and potentially game-deciding.
0 – The Patriots have scored zero points combined in the first quarter in all seven of their Super Bowl appearances in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era.
1 – Philadelphia are the first team New England will play in the Super Bowl that ranked top five in the NFL in both scoring offence and scoring defence. The Eagles defence also ranked top five this season in points allowed per game, takeaways and yards allowed per game.
3 – New England are a perfect 3-0 in Super Bowls when wearing their road white jerseys. They’re just 2-2 when donning their home blue jerseys. Teams who have worn white in the past 13 Super Bowls are 12-1.
Home Team. Away Jersey.
— The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon (@TheHall) January 26, 2018
A closer look at the historical significance behind the #Patriots decision to wear white during Super Bowl LII: https://t.co/aqp07ywU4b#NotDone pic.twitter.com/hmQVFyyx5V
3.7 – The average margin of victory in the seven Super Bowls played by the Patriots since 2002 is a minuscule 3.7 points.
5 – The Eagles have five of the top 25 most disruptive lineman in the league this season, based on disruption rate, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. No other team had more than two players ranked in the top 25.
8 – Only eight quarterbacks in NFL history have led their team to a Super Bowl win. Philadelphia’ Nick Foles will attempt to become the ninth, with his counterpart, Tom Brady, one of the eight to have accomplished the feat.
10 – This will be the 10th Super Bowl appearance by the Patriots, which is the most in the NFL. Pittsburgh, Dallas and Denver are tied for second-most with eight.
73.8 – Philadelphia’s defence allow a passer rating of 73.8 when opposing offences huddle, compared to 106.5 when offences go no-huddle.
#Eagles D vs huddle (vs no-huddle)
— Pat Thorman (@Pat_Thorman) January 28, 2018
Comp%: 58.9% (68.0%)
Yards/Att: 6.0 (8.7)
Passer Rating: 73.8 (106.5)
- NFL Avg: 87.3 (86.1)
QB Pressure Rate: 42.2% (36.0%)
- NFL Avg: 35.1% (30.9%)
Total Yards/Play: 4.83 (7.28)
101.7 – Nick Foles has been excellent on third downs this season, completing 27-of-46 passes for 320 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 101.7.
207 – The Eagles’ offence ran 207 RPOs (run-pass options) this season, gaining 981 yards on those plays, according to Pro Football Focus. The league average for RPOs run was 66, while New England faced the fewest RPOs of any team with 39.
