Rarely does a team win the Super Bowl without its fair share of being fortunate. Malcolm Butler may have delivered the final and most important break for the New England Patriots last season, but the Pats benefited from several best-case scenarios to reach Super Bowl XLIX in the first place.
For instance, both external (Tampa Bay's mismanagement of Darrelle Revis) and internal factors (offensive line improvement) shaped the evolution of the Patriots personnel. And unforeseen developments on other squads, such as Rashaan Melvin being forced into regular cornerback snaps for the Baltimore Ravens, certainly aided the Patriots on their postseason run.