The Eagles had a distinct fan advantage over the Patriots in Jacksonville in 2005 and they could have even more of one at U.S. Bank Stadium if they can beat the Vikings on Sunday. The combination of big plays and bad throws led to mostly middle-of-the-road statistics, but Leonard Fournette, a rookie running back selected with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, was a ideal complement, rushing for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns in just 13 games. But when they had to be good, they weren’t. The Jags traveled to Pittsburgh and upset the Steelers, 45-42, on Sunday.
Advertisement
Burkhead missed the final few games of the regular season, but having him back will certainly be good for the Patriots. They painfully remember Super Bowl losses in 2008 and 2012, both to the New York Giants in games the Patriots were favored to win.
“He is the best quarterback to ever play the game”, said Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell of Brady. It was Brady’s 10th career postseason game with at least three TD tosses, moving him past his boyhood idol Joe Montana for the most in National Football League history.
But a bigger question may be whether Blake Bortles can get the Jaguars offense moving against a very good Patriots defense. And they’re going to win that bitch. Whatever the future holds, New England’s path to the Super Bowl has taken on a well-paved look. After that, they’re going to the Super Bowl. It lasts long enough to make people think that maybe-just maybe – the impenetrable Patriots have finally cracked. Minnesota will win if they score early, take advantage of the Old saint Nick, and play better than or close to what they did against the Saints. Now with late-game laterals being more common, we’ve seen multiple late-game covers by recovered fumbles in the end zone. “We’re going to have to go repeat it, so you’ve got to get right back to work, right back to the process of trying to figure out how to break down our opponent”.
And Brady, as usual, was awesome. Dion Lewis led the ground with 15 carries for 62 yards and Danny Amendola led the receivers with 11 catches for 112 yards.
Jacksonville, on the other hand, will try to copy what the Denver Broncos did a couple of years ago. They also stand 6-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings with the Jaguars. If the Vikings, Eagles and Jaguars have reminded us of anything this postseason, it is that great defense can overcome a lot of things, and the formula for beating Brady and the Patriots has not changed.
Get prep sports breaking news alerts from the Gwinnett Daily Post staff delivered to your email. Sunday, they vanquished Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.
But if he fumbles or throws a couple of interceptions, the Jaguars will be in trouble. While that may be a toss-up, New England’s defense is among the stingiest at allowing touchdowns. But to beat them, teams have to bring just that. It just has the Jaguars rather than the Steelers, you know, playing for the AFC title. However, with a young core, Doug Marrone’s team will be a squad to fear for years to come. Brady is far ahead of both Bortles and Foles, though, in defense of Foles, he only started three games this season compared to Brady’s 16.
Advertisement
It’s safe to say that nobody predicted these matchups with these quarterbacks at the helm, even though the NFC Championship game is the No. 1 seed vs.the No. 2 seed.
