Fewer points, more wins

The Patriots' four-game winning streak has come in an unexpected way.

Once — only a month ago, actually — the Patriots offense would regularly reach 30 points per game, but that pace has slowed dramatically.

Over the Patriots' fourgame win streak, they've scored just 87 points — the fewest they've scored during a stretch of four straight wins since 2003.

The Pats' typically highpowered offense — which has finished as a top-10 scoring unit for 13 straight seasons — has gone from second in the NFL at 32.3 points per game over the first four weeks of the season to the 14th-ranked scoring offense since Week 5 (21.8 PPG).

The drop in scoring has been paired well with a remarkable turnaround on defense, as the Patriots have allowed just 12.8 points per game over the last four weeks after surrendering 32 points per game in the first month of the season.

That the Patriots' fourgame winning streak has come without the team surpassing the 24-point plateau is a surprise — because the Patriots in the Tom Brady era have typically relied on high point totals to sustain win streaks.

Since 2001, when the Patriots eclipse 24 points, they have won 92.2 percent of their games.

When they fail to surpass that mark, the Patriots have dropped to a middling team — winning 52.8 percent of their games.

For comparison, the rest of the NFL has just a 29.5 winning percentage this season when failing to score more than 24 points. Only four teams, including the Patriots, are even above .500 in those games (Steelers, Vikings, Seahawks).

So while the four consecutive wins powered by a resurgent defense are nice, the up-and-down fluctuations on both sides of the ball have led to a high number of close games for the Pats.

In the first eight weeks this season, the Patriots have already had five end where the margin of victory was within one score, tied for the second most through eight games in the Brady and Belichick era.

The Patriots have won four of those five tight contests this year. Brady's game-winning touchdown to Brandin Cooks saved the Pats in a three-point win against the Texans in Week 3, and more recently, they hung on to beat the Buccaneers by five points, the Jets by seven points, and the Chargers by eight points this past week.

The wins are the most important thing, but the standard that fans in New England have grown accustomed to was more than just winning. Under Brady's lead, it's usually been about winning comfortably.

Through eight games, Patriots fans haven't been treated to the team's typical level of dominance, as their average margin of victory of 9.17 would be their lowest in a season since 2001 if it lasts for the entire year.

That's down almost six points from the Pats' average margin of victory since 2001, which is a leagueleading 15.13.

The good news for Patriots fans is that both the offense and defense have shown they can play at a high level, which opens the door to the margin for victory growing if the units can coordinate.

So if the Patriots offense can figure out their red-zone struggles, and the defense can continue to make strides, perhaps there will be fewer close calls down the stretch.