By Michael Vallee

It was yet another notch on the belt for the man known now simply as “The G.O.A.T.”.  Yet another playoff win, yet another double-digit fourth quarterback comeback and yet another despondent opponent sent packing for the offseason.  And, of course, yet another Super Bowl appearance, his NFL record eighth.  Tom Brady collects Super Bowl appearances like Bill Belichick collects late-round draft picks.  In the Patriots 24-20 narrow escape of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship, the Patriots’ QB once again used one of football’s biggest stages to remind us that he’s Tom Brady and everyone else is just playing for second place.

At this point we’ve almost run out of superlatives to describe the Patriots signal-caller.  Going forward I’m just going to write Tom Brady is __________, and let you guys fill in the blank.  Seriously, try and think of an adjective to insert in that space that hasn’t already been overused about Brady.  Poised, accurate, tough, smart, prepared, clutch, ageless are just a small sample of the adjectives used to describe a quarterback that has not only separated himself from the pack but is starting to lap the field.

Sunday’s fourth quarter comeback was just another lynchpin in that dominance.

To appreciate what Brady did against Jacksonville we have to first set the stage with less than 11 minutes remaining in the game.  The Patriots defense has been leaking like a sieve all game.  New England needs to score 10 to tie a game in which they have score just 10 points in 49+ minutes.  Brady is facing the number one pass defense in the NFL.  His favorite target, TE Rob Gronkowski, is out for the game with a concussion.  The backup tight end is a glorified offensive tackle.  Two of Brady’s favorite weapons from last year’s Super Bowl comeback, Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell, are done for the year.  And this might be a good time to mention that Brady is playing with a jacked up thumb on his throwing hand that required multiple stitches and almost caused him to miss the first playoff game of his career.  Did I forget anything?

Those were the facts when Brady stood in his huddle with 10:49 on the clock.  He had been sacked two plays earlier and now faced a 3rd and 18.  The game felt like it was slowly slipping away from New England.  With every play, the margin of error was shrinking and the Jaguars confidence was swelling.

Then it all changed.

Brady throws a dart to Amendola for 21 yards.  It was a quintessential Brady throw in every way.  He didn’t just throw the ball to a well-covered Amendola, Brady threw it to the one spot where only Amendola could get it.  First down.

Wasting no time, Brady followed that up with a perfect 31-yard over-the-shoulder pass to a barely open Phillip Dorsett (yes, he is alive and well).  Two plays later Brady hit Amendola for a touchdown.

Jacksonville’s lead was cut to three, and you could feel the momentum shift.  The Patriots defense felt it too, forcing back-to-back punts for the first time all game.  Just under five minutes later Brady whipped a bullet to Amendola in the back of the end zone.  Once again, the future Hall-Of-Famer threw it exactly where it needed to be to avoid the defender and give Amendola a shot to make a play.  Comeback complete.

A tremendous play by Stephon Gilmore on the next series followed by a great 3rd down run by Dion Lewis would inevitably seal the victory.  But this was all about Brady, the Benjamin Button of the NFL who continues to age like he’s from Napa Valley.  All told Brady finished the fourth quarter 9-14 for 138 yards and two touchdowns and a QB rating of 136.3.  It was pure vintage.

Did you expect anything less in January from a man who really only needs one superlative: G.O.A.T.

Game Notes

-Harry Hindsight:  The day after the game I had to laugh at all the commentators that talked about the Patriots comeback as if it was some foregone conclusion.  Maybe I was watching a different game than them but there is little doubt in my mind that New England easily could have lost that game.  Three plays stand out that might have sent the final score in the other direction:

 

-Delay of Game:  Late in the 2nd quarter the Jaguars had a 12-yard gain on 3rd and 7 wiped out by a brutal delay of game penalty.  It was an inexplicable mistake by Bortles and the offense following a timeout.  If the Jaguars had snapped the ball one second earlier the results could have been devastating for the Patriots.  Not only would it have placed them in field goal range but it would have allowed the Jags offense to use up most of the remaining first half clock, preventing New England from scoring late.  Instead of a halftime score of 14-10, the Patriots would have been looking at 17-3, or possibly 21-3, with Jacksonville getting the ball to start the second half.

 -Dion Lewis fumble:  When Lewis fumbled early in the 4th quarter it was a devastating blow for New England, but it could have been much worse.  After Myles Jack ripped the ball out of Lewis’ hands he immediately got up and started running in the other direction, only to be stopped when the refs blew the play dead.  Replays, however, showed that Jack was never touched by a Patriot and should have been allowed to continue for a likely defensive touchdown.  That would have made the score 27-10 and effectively ended the Patriots season.

-3rd and 18:  Not sure if failing to convert this would have been a fatal blow but it certainly would have shrunk the margin of error for a comeback to razor thin proportions.  The pass to Amendola didn’t just keep the drive alive it woke up the crowd and gave the Patriots desperately needed momentum.

-230 Pound Anchor:  Usually this is the part of the column where I point out all of the ways that the other coaching staff threw up all over themselves, a regular occurrence for those coaching in the shadow of Belichick.  But after rewatching the game I don’t have much to kill Doug Marrone on.  Jacksonville stayed aggressive, didn’t sit on their lead despite having Blake Bortles as their quarterback, and didn’t make any glaring second half mistakes.  The only second guess is more of a strategy decision and it would have been a bold move by Jacksonville.  They should have benched Leonard Fournette.

The Patriots have no speed at linebacker and the best way to take advantage of that is through the short passes to the running backs, which the Jaguars did early and often.  Utilizing the speed of their two 3rd down backs Jacksonville was able to rip off gains of 9, 15, 21 and 24 with passes to their running backs out of the backfield.  They also just missed on a couple of deeper balls including one late in the 4th quarter to Fournette that might have been complete if it had been the quicker Yeldon running the play.  In the second half, aside from one 14-yard run, Fournette rushed 12 times for just 22 yards.  He also had zero catches.  If the Jaguars had played Yeldon and Grant in the second half, and continued to throw them the ball, it might be the Jaguars heading to Minnesota.

-Mr Universe:  On Sunday there weren’t many people doing better than Danny Amendola.  Shortly after his 84 yard, two touchdown performance that included a spectacular, toe-tap game-winning touchdown, Amendola was mauled on the field by his girlfriend, Olivia Culpo, you know, the one that used to be the reigning Miss Universe.  I’m not sure what you do for an encore after a day like that.

In two playoff games Amendola has filled the clutch receiver role vacated by Julian edelman nicely, ringing up 18 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns.  Amendola continues a long Patriot tradition of undersized overachieving receivers coming up big when it matters most.  Amendola, Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman and Wes Wel…..well maybe not him so much, despite their diminutive stature have all come through with dominant playoff performances and won multiple rings while serving as Brady’s go to receiver.

This all stands in stark contrast to Randy Moss who, for all his speed, size and gaudy stats, was a notorious underachieving dog in the playoffs and will enter the Hall-Of-Fame with zero Super Bowl rings.  In Moss’ four playoff games with New England, despite setting a record in ‘07 for receiving touchdowns in a season,he scored a whopping one touchdown.  He averaged just 3 catches for 35 yards in those four games.  And this wasn’t just a Patriots problem.  In his final 10 playoff games Moss averaged 3 catches for 39 yards.  Now compare that to his pocket-sized peers in New England:

 -Amendola:  Comparing careers with the Patriots, he averaged more catches and yards per game in the playoffs than Moss.  In Amendola’s last three playoff games he has 26 receptions for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns.

-Troy Brown:  In his six playoff games as a starter Brown averaged 5.8 receptions and 71 yards per game.

-Deion Branch:  In his 11 playoff games as a starter with the Patriots, averaged 4.5 catches and 71 yards, including a stretch of six games where he averaged 6 and 100.  He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX.

-Edelman:  Still the gold standard of the small and clutch crowd.  In his last 10 playoff games he has averaged 8 receptions for 95 yards.  To put that in perspective, in Jerry Rice’s 10 best consecutive playoff games he averaged 6.5 receptions and 105 yards.

Edelman, Branch, Brown and Amendola also contributed in numerous other facets of the game –  throwing touchdowns passes, scoring on touchdown runs or making big plays on special teams.

-Better late than never:  Credit Matt Patricia and the defense for coming up big in the 4th quarter.  For three quarters Jacksonville’s offense was surprisingly effective producing four scoring drives and just one 3-and-out.  In the 4th quarter the Jaguars were stopped on all four of their possessions and forced into two 3-and-outs.  All told the Patriots outgained Jacksonville 207 to 62 in the final quarter.

-Monster.com:  Interesting to hear that Belichick twice recommended Jaguars coach Doug Marrone for jobs with Jacksonville, first as an assistant then as a head coach.  This support stemmed from his experience competing against Marrone in Buffalo where he reportedly called Marrone’s teams the toughest and most disciplined Bills teams he’s ever faced.  Marrone has yet to beat Belichick but every game has been competitive and within one score in the 4th quarter.

-I’m too sexy for my shirt:  This Championship game got me thinking about the AFC Title game in 1996 between Parcells’ Patriots and Coughlin’s Jaguars, and reminded me that the mid-90s Patriots are on the short list for worst uniforms in NFL history.

-Tin foil hat:  It was disappointing to hear Boomer Esiason fall into the Patriots conspiracy vortex when he started his halftime commentary with this, ”Now, it’s Gillette Stadium, so the flags have to come out don’t they boys.”  Even stranger, this came just after they showed video of two penalties that Esiason agreed were good calls.  He then added that he wasn’t sure about the A.J. Bouye pass interference on Brandin Cooks.  So there is one borderline call in an entire half and that warrants a quote about some kind of perceived home cooking for New England?  And I can’t imagine the league likes to hear a former MVP, on a network broadcast being watched by tens of millions of people, impugn the integrity of the NFL and its officials with little evidence to back it up.

-The Patriots were the first team to beat the Jaguars this year when Blake Bortles doesn’t throw an interception.  Jacksonville entered the Championship game 10-0 in games when he doesn’t have an INT.  Speaking of Bortles, it is strange that he only attempted two runs for -2 yards against a New England D that has been susceptible to mobile quarterbacks.  In his previous two playoff games he ran for a combined 123 yards and against Buffalo Bortles rush yards accounted for 38% of their offense.

-I have a dream:  We hear so many negative comments about minority relations in America these days you’d think that we were on the verge of some kind of violent coast-to-coast race war.  How about a quick reminder that a lot of that negativity is noise and hype generated by a loud few that are often serving an agenda and a reminder that the overwhelming majority of people, at their core, are good people that likely don’t care what your race or religion are.

It is hard to find two things more different than the Jaguars Muslim, Pakistani born owner, Shahid Khan, and the majority white and largely rednecky people of Jacksonville Florida.  When Khan bought the Jaguars, becoming the first minority owner in league history, it would have been easy to assume this was a match that was doomed from the start.  Then a funny thing happened, the people of Jacksonville fell in love with Khan.  His humble background, infectious personality and commitment to stay in the city made him an instant fan favorite, and made imitations of his signature stache one of the most popular accessories in Jacksonville.  Now, it is common place to see a bunch of white blue collar Billy Bobs and Mary Joes tailgating before Jacksonville Jaguar games wearing the novelty mustache of a foreign born Muslim while singing the praises of their new owner.

Turns out most people are happy to support anyone from any background that is loyal to them and does a good job.  Who says we can’t all get along.