During the game it looked as if the Patriots were having a difficult time stopping the Jaguars but when you looked at the half-time and post-game statistics it was the opposite. (What can I say I’m a stats geek!)
All last week people were saying Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew were going to run for 100 yards on the Pats defense; but by halftime tonight they had combined for only 60 yards. The game ended with Taylor and Jones-Drew recording only 47 and 19 yards, respectively. It is a true testament to how well the defense played in the second half.
The one thing I did not like to see during the game was all the flags being thrown against the Patriots. I do not think I have seen unnecessary roughness called more than in tonight’s game. Some of the calls were legit but others were ticky-tack and good have stood alone – i.e. Asante Samuel’s penalty in the fourth quarter. The play was not egregious enough to throw a flag on.
Dancing with the Stars Running Back, Laurence Maroney played exceptional. Maroney ran for 122 yards on 22 carries for an average of 5.5 yards. He broke a couple of tackles which led to huge gains and eventually scores as well as scoring the Patriots’ second touchdown of the game in the beginning of the second quarter.
The Patriots will return to action on the January 20 at Gillette Stadium to compete for the AFC Championship against either the San Diego Chargers or the Indianapolis Colts.
NOTES:
Donte Stallworth came up big for the Pats when they needed him. Brady connected with Stallworth on 3rd and three in the fourth quarter for a first down to essential seal the deal for the Pats. Stallworth finished the game with three receptions for 68 yards – the most on the team…Wes Welker was Brady’s go to guy during the game, collecting 54 yards on nine receptions as well as rushing for 13 yards on a reverse end-around.
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