Positional groupings

A look at the positional groupings utilized by the Patriots' offense in Sunday's win over the Steelers:

4 WR/1 RB -- 23 of 57 snaps
3 WR/1 TE/1 RB -- 22 of 57
1 WR/2 TE/1 FB/1 RB -- 6 of 57
2 WR/2 TE/1 RB -- 5 of 57
3 TE/1 FB/1 RB -- 1 of 57

(snaps include a holding penalty on RB Kevin Faulk and a defensive holding call drawn by Randy Moss)

ANALYSIS: Once again, the Patriots ran their majority of snaps with three and four receivers on the field, favoring a spread approach against the NFL's No. 1-rated pass defense. ... Randy Moss' 63-yard touchdown catch came out of the 2 WR/2 TE/1 RB package. The Patriots utilized play-action, which was effective because the offense had run the ball well on the previous drive. ... Maroney's 10-yard run in the first quarter, in which he pushed the pile, came out of the power-based 1 WR/2 TE/1 FB/1 RB package. ... The lateral touchdown play came out of the 3 WR/1 TE/1 RB package.

RUN DEFENSE NOTE: In our run defense note, there is now a slight alteration. We noted the Steelers had 33 rushing yards on their last drive. It was their second to last drive. The Steelers added 20 rushing yards on their final drive, so 55 of their 181 rushing yards came on those final two drives, when the Patriots had their lighter personnel package on the field.