if you can keep the offense in bounds. The theory is rather than risk a long losing TD you can run the clock down even though the offense is moving downfield. And that Brady can do like no other. His drive at the end was perfectly executed. Give the old divorcee credit. He knew the soft spots and he knew how play it so they didn't run out of time.
Now-the Ram offense-where does one start. They can't maintain a running game if there is no space to run through. We saw what a back even like Henderson can do if there is space. MvVay is a passing attack genuis-but teams with smart D coordinators are learning how to beat him. Add to that his O line cannot give Stafford sufficient time to execute then you get what we're seeing.
I have no answers since it's obvious it all comes down to players and why after a SB win we suddenly don't have enough.