The AFC Championship game is back in New England again as the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Massachusetts to face the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
This is the seventh consecutive time that the Patriots make it to this instance and the third time in the last four seasons that the game is held at Gillette Stadium. In fact, the Patriots have hosted five of the last seven AFC Championship games.
As if that’s not dominating enough, the Patriots have reached the AFC Championship game in 12 of Tom Brady’s 16 seasons as quarterback of the Patriots.
But this is a game that features two teams that have several elite units and are here for a reason, so discarding one of them beforehand could prove foolish.
In this game the most anticipated matchup will be the one between the Patriots explosive offense against the Jaguars stingy defense.
The Patriots offense ranked 1st in total yards per game, and 2nd in points per game, passing yards per game and total giveaways, as they had just 10 (8 interceptions and two lost fumbles) during the regular season.
Meanwhile the Jaguars defense ranked 2nd in points allowed per game allowed, total yards allowed per game and takeaways; and they were the NFL’s best in passing yards allowed per game.
To slow down Brady and the Patriots the Jaguars will have to use Jalen Ramsey, on of the league’s best, biggest and most athletic cornerbacks in the league to go against tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The Jaguars pass defense matches up pretty well against the Patriots receivers. If Ramsey covers Gronkowski then the Jaguars can deploy A.J Bouye to cover Brandin Cooks and Aaron Colvin can go after Hogan to limit Brady’s options.
On the other side, although Blake Bortles has been up and down for the Jaguars he seems to have found a way to get it done in the postseason. Bortles understands he’s athletic and mobile enough to make things happen with his legs as much as with his arms and he’s beginning to do so.
His mobility and the power and speed of Leonard Fournette are what make the Jaguars running game so dangerous and that should help them big time against the Patriots rush defense which was among the worst units in the NFL for big part of the season.
Furthermore, when a team can run effectively it can use the play action pass and take deep shots, and these explosive plays should help them to keep up with Tom Brady in this game.
Playing the Patriots at home in the playoffs is usually a recipe for disaster for the visiting teams, but if the Jaguars can be physical, control the point of attack and score by passing the ball against the Patriots pass defense they will give themselves a chance.
Bortles already proved against the Steelers that he can do more than avoid turnovers in a pivotal game, he guided his team in key scoring drives, if he can keep his composure and do it again, this time at Foxboro, the Jaguars could surprise the Patriots.
Prediction: The Patriots are 14-0 in the playoffs against teams that they did not face in the regular season and this week they should get their 15th victory as the Jaguars depend too much on Fournette as he’s the engine of the Jacksonville’s offense.
It’s true that the Pats have struggled against the run all season, but defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and head coach Bill Bielichick will stack the box and force Bortles to defeat them. He’s improved and can lead his team to score, but he he’s not that good yet. Brady, who is 7-0 against the Jaguars in his career (including the playoffs), will find a way to get the ball to Gronk and score on the Jaguars stingy defense.
