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Week 19 Game Recap: Jacksonville Jaguars 20, New England Patriots 31
What you need to know
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
The Jaguars kept the game close thanks to a good effort by their quarterback David Garrard but were unable to stop the Patriots' offense. Jacksonville did an effective job of mixing in running plays and passing plays in the first half, and the game was tied at halftime. However after they fell behind in the second half and were forced to rely more on the pass, they were unable to generate many points although they were able to move the ball effectively through the air at times. Fred Taylor averaged just 3.61 yards per carry, but was close to breaking free for longer gains on a few of his runs. Maurice Jones-Drew was not involved much in the running game, as he only had six rushing attempts, but was more involved in the short passing game. He too was close to breaking free for big gains at times, but was never able to break long runs. Taylor and Jones-Drew ran hard but did not have any explosive plays.
Jacksonville's passing game was executed efficiently by Garrard, who proved to be very accurate through the early part of the game until their offense was forced to rely on the pass after they fell behind New England. Garrard demonstrated good touch as well as a strong arm on his passes and usually made the right decision as to who to throw the ball to. However he lost a fumble while being sacked that the Patriots turned into a touchdown on their ensuing drive, and threw an interception late in the game that sealed the outcome.
Jacksonville attempted 17 plays in the red zone, and ran the ball 8 times. Jones-Drew and Taylor split those carries evenly although neither managed to score a touchdown. Garrard spread his red zone passes among six different receivers, with Matt Jones and Ernest Wilford being targeted twice apiece with each of them scoring a touchdown.
| New England Patriots |
The Patriots, led by Tom Brady were machine-like in their offensive precision. Brady executed their game plan well, which called for short passes and solid running. Laurence Maroney ran very effectively against the Jaguars. He took advantage of most of his 22 carries, and averaged 5.5 yards on those carries. Maroney showed good power between the tackles and excellent burst to get to the outside and run by defenders. He had a very good all-around game against a very good run defense.
Brady took what the Jaguars gave him, which was the shorter passing game, and efficiently led his team on several scoring drives using mostly short passes. Brady's first incompletion came with just over ten minutes remaining in the third quarter, and he finished the game with two incompletions in 28 pass attempts. He appeared to be in complete command of the offense, and routinely selected the receiver who had the opportunity to gain the most yards, even though his focus was mostly on short passes. On the rare occasions where he was forced from the pocket, Brady still made the right decision as to who to throw the ball. This was never more evident than late in the game when he was forced from the pocket and threw a 53 yard pass to Donte Stallworth that kept their drive alive and as a result use up more of the play clock. Even though the game was close, Brady never lost his poise and stuck to their game plan with outstanding results.
The Patriots ran 16 plays in the red zone with seven of those plays rushes. Maroney had six of those rushing attempts including one for a touchdown. Brady targeted Wes Welker the most in this game, and continued that pattern in the red zone, targeting him with five of his nine red zone passes, including one for a touchdown. Brady's pinpoint accuracy extended to his red zone passing, as he also threw two other red zone touchdown passes, both to Benjamin Watson.
What you ought to know
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 22 - 33 - 278 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 14 - 0 |
Garrard threw very accurately and exhibited very good touch on a wide variety of passes. He showed very good touch and arm strength on passes up the middle, along the sidelines, as well as whether he was in the pocket or throwing after rolling out of the pocket. He also showed good accuracy and arm strength on a couple of passes where he threw the ball sidearm to get around pass rushers. Garrard did however have two turnovers that proved costly. One fumble was recovered by the defense at Jacksonville's 29 yard line that the Patriots turned into a touchdown, and his interception came late in the game that cost his team a chance to pull within a field goal.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 13 - 47 - 0 |
Taylor ran with determination but did not have much room to operate against a tough New England run defense although he was one defender away from breaking a long run on a couple of his carries. Although he had two rushing attempts inside the ten yard line, he was unable to get to the end zone.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 6 - 19 - 0, Rec: 6 - 49 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jones-Drew did not have many opportunities rushing the ball, but took advantage of his receiving opportunities to extend drives. While he ran hard and usually gained some extra yardage after initial contact, Jones-Drew was unable to have a big impact on the game.
| RB Greg Jones, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jones was used mostly as a blocking fullback, getting just the final pass of the game thrown his way.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (7 targets) |
Northcutt was used mostly on intermediate routes, which he ran well. Of the three targets that were not caught, one was a result of him being overthrown although he was wide open for a good gain, while he dropped the other two, one of which was a couple of yards outside the end zone.
| WR Matt Jones, Rec: 3 - 48 - 1 (4 targets) |
Jones was productive with his opportunities, scoring a touchdown and showing good route running to get open on his other receptions as well as good running after the catch. He did have a pass thrown to him in the end zone that might have been caught. It would have been a really nice catch but it was catchable.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 21 - 1 (4 targets) |
Wilford was not targeted much, but two of his targets were in the end zone, and he caught one of them for a touchdown. Garrard looked for him on a crucial third down play in the second half and he came through with a good leaping catch.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 1 - 25 - 0 (2 targets) |
Williams was only targeted in the second half. He ran a good route and showed excellent concentration on the pass he caught. His other target was in the end zone, but the pass was deflected by his defender.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 4 - 74 - 0 (5 targets) |
Lewis began the game strongly, catching his first three targets for 66 yards before leaving with a knee injury in the second quarter. He returned before halftime, but was only targeted twice afterwards. Lewis ran good routes to get open, and showed very good running after the catch ability.
| TE Isaac Smolko, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Smolko's involvement was minimal.
| PK Josh Scobee 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Scobee connected on both his point after attempts, as well as both field goal attempts, which were from 39 and 25 yards.
| JAX Rush Defense |
The Jaguars rush defense was solid at first, managing to keep Maroney in check, but they wore down and gave up 122 yards rushing and a touchdown to him. They were controlled at the line of scrimmage and several times gave up yards after initially tackling the Patriots' running backs.
| JAX Pass Defense |
Jacksonville's pass defense was intent on not giving up deep pass completions, but they were unable to generate much pressure on Brady and were picked apart on short pass plays throughout the game. They gave up three passing touchdowns and 26 completions in 28 pass attempts to Brady.
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 26 - 28 - 262 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Brady was superb, throwing just two incompletions as he took what Jacksonville's defense gave him, which was shorter passes. He settled into a rhythm quickly and although he targeted Welker the most, distributed the ball to whoever was open. Although he only attempted one deep pass -- which he completed while running outside the pocket -- Brady put his receivers in position to gain a few yards after securing the ball with excellent placement.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 22 - 122 - 1, Rec: 2 - 40 - 0 (2 targets) |
Maroney played very well. He ran with very good power, dragging defenders with him on multiple occasions as he gained several yards after contact. Maroney also showed very good speed, as he was able to get outside on some runs as well as a couple of screen passes, and run by defenders. He gave a very determined effort and posted very good numbers.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 4 - 9 - 0, Rec: 5 - 36 - 0 (5 targets) |
Faulk performed his role as the third down back solidly. He was more effective catching the ball out of the backfield, and was able to gain a few yards after catching the ball.
| WR Wes Welker, Rush: 1 - 13 - 0, Rec: 9 - 54 - 1 (10 targets) |
Welker was the featured receiver in the second half, when seven of his targets were directed to him. Welker was used exclusively on short routes, and as a result averaged six yards per reception. He did show very good running in traffic skills, including a reverse he ran for a first down. He also had what might have been a costly drop late in the game but it wound up not hurting the team.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gaffney was used on a few short routes and caught all of the passes thrown his way.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 3 - 68 - 0 (3 targets) |
Stallworth was not targeted until the second half, but caught every pass thrown to him. He showed good speed on the one deep pass play the Patriots attempted, and good moves to elude a defender and turn a very short pass into a good run for a first down.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
Moss was not involved much in the game, as the Jaguars were intent on preventing deep plays in the passing game. He caught the only pass thrown to him. Moss did however have some good blocks that helped the running game.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 2 - 12 - 2 (3 targets) |
Watson was the target on Brady's first incompletion, but took advantage of his other targets, catching both for touchdowns, displaying good hands in tight coverage.
| TE Kyle Brady, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Brady caught one pass against his former team, and was used mostly for his blocking.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Gostkowski made all four of his point after attempts and one of two field goal attempts. He missed one from 35 yards and made one from 35 yards.
| NE Rush Defense |
New England's run defense was ready for the challenge of stopping Jacksonville's running game and did so successfully. The linemen and linebackers managed to keep the Jaguars' running backs from gaining momentum past the line of scrimmage and were able to contain them for most of the game. They did not allow any rushing touchdowns.
| NE Pass Defense |
The Patriot's pass defense generated pressure by blitzing Garrard, especially in the second half. They were able to force a fumble and intercepted him once. Although they allowed two short passing touchdowns, New England's secondary were usually around the ball when it arrived and did not allow many yards after Jacksonville's receivers had caught the pass.
