In the week leading up to the Jacksonville Jaguars-New England Patriots AFC Divisional Round playoff game, I was reminded how much hype accompanies this time of year. Therefore, I didn't preview the game like I had originally planned. Everywhere you turned/tuned in, you heard a breakdown of the game. There's more than enough pseudo-experts out there, so I'm content just to recap the action.
I can say that this game pretty much played out as any devoted but rational Patriots fan would have expected. New England won 31-20 last night at Gillette but not before the Jaguars gave them their best shot.
By taking what the Jaguars gave him (mostly short stuff, to the backs and underneath to the receivers), Tom Brady completed 26 of his 28 passes (an NFL playoff record) for 262 yards three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Jaguars gameplan was clearly to limit the deep ball and Randy Moss. In both cases, they were pretty successful as they only gave up two long passes (53 yards to Donte' Stallworth and 33 yards to Laurence Maroney) which were catch and runs and Moss was limited to one catch for 14 yards.
The main problems for the Jags were that the Patriots have many more weapons outside of Moss and also Jacksonville's offense while good, simply couldn't match the points that New England can put up in a hurry.
Jacksonville had the best possible start as they took the opening kick and drove 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. The Jaguars were playing to win as they converted a fourth-and-one when David Garrard (22 of 33, 278 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) completed a 34-yard pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis (4 catches, 74 yards). Even crazier than that was the scoring play where Garrard was being pulled down by Mike Vrabel but was still able to find Matt Jones in the end zone for a 8-yard score.
New England answered with a 10 play, 74 yard scoring drive, capped off by a 3-yard fastball from Brady to Ben Watson.
Garrard made two costly mistakes in the game. The first was late in the opening quarter when he fumbled after Ty Warren hit him. Vrabel fell on it and the Pats had a short field. Maroney (22 carries, 122 yards) plunged in from a yard out to put New England up 14-7 early in the second.
Proving they were legit, Jacksonville responded with an 11 play, 95 yard drive, finished off when Garrard found Ernest Wilford on a perfect 6-yard touchdown pass. The throw was beautiful as he put it in the corner of the end zone, away from Asante Samuel and where only Wilford could grab it.
The Pats had a chance to take the lead but Stephen Gostowski missed a 35-yard field goal so the teams headed into halftime tied at 14.
The 11 play, 82 yard drive that the Pats had to open the third quarter was great and they finished it off in style as Brady found Wes Welker (9 catches, 54 yards; 1 rush, 13 yards) in the back of the end zone after a statue of liberty play. It was reminiscent of Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl last season as Brady faked the handoff to Kevin Faulk (5 catches, 36 yards), spun around with the ball behind his back then threw a laser to an open Welker.
The king of second half adjustments, Bill Belichick's team only allowed six points in the second half as Jacksonville had field goals in the third and fourth quarter.
Another Watson TD, this one from 9-yards put the Pats up 28-17 late in the third. The teams traded field goals in the fourth and New England effectively sealed it when Rodney Harrison picked off Garrard.
The Jaguars second-best rushing attack in the league never really got started. Fred Taylor (13 rushes, 47 yards), the dynamic Maurice Jones-Drew (6 carries, 19 yards; 6 catches, 49 yards) and Garrard (3 rushes, 14 yards) were stuck in neutral most of the night.
The Patriots M.O. for the last seven years has been taking away teams favored offensive style and making opponents beat them with other guys or doing things they're not as good at. Mission accomplished once again.
Brady spread it around to eight different receivers and even more impressive, the Patriots never turned it over. Jacksonville played a pretty nice game but by now it's obvious that if you want to beat New England this season, you have to be flawless in every facet of the game.
Junior Seau played like a man possessed as he had a team-high 10 tackles. James Sanders added nine while Randall Gay, Harrison and Tedy Bruschi all had seven in the win. Jaguars linebacker Daryl Smith had a game-high 14 tackles in a losing effort.
The Patriots now await the winner of the Colts-Chargers game. Regardless of that outcome, New England will host the AFC Championship next Sunday afternoon at Gillette. Two more wins and the Patriots will be 19-0, the greatest team in NFL history.
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