Photo Credit, forbes.com
Judging by the look on Bill Belichick’s face, one might wonder what affected him most, the first two unsuccessful drives of the game or the bitter cold weather. Hooded with an open-face winter-mask covering the outer parts of his face, the successful Patriots coach struggled to cope with the frigidity temperatures.
By the time the inner parts of his face turned pale, the Patriots offense caught fire and Tom Brady threw his first touchdown pass of the game to Hogan which helped New England increase its lead, 21-7 and cruised past Tennessee, 35-14 in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening in Foxborough, Ma.
The victory thrusts New England into Super Bowl 52 where it will face Jacksonville on February 4th.
With 1:52 left in the second quarter, Brady tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan to record the pivotal score, 21-7 which held up for the win. He connected with five different receivers which accounted for eight completions on the 91-yard drive. Hogan found a soft spot in between two defenders before receiving a bullet from Brady.
Brady finished the game passing for 337 yards on 35-of-53 attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Amendola had 11 catches for 112 yards.
Jaguars quarterback Mariota passed for 254 yards on 22-of-37 attempts and two touchdowns.
The Titans forced New England to punt on its first two possessions to set up a drive at its five-yard line, on its second series of the game. From there, Mariota directed the Titans, 95-yards, in 12-plays, capped on Keelan Cole one-handed scoring catch with 1:14 left in the first quarter. 7-0 Titans.
That was enough to fuel the Patriots. It would go on to score 35 unanswered points.
For a moment, the Titans defense pulled out all the stops, but Brady managed to make the necessary adjustments by throwing short passes over the middle to Amendola, Brandin Cooks, Rob Gronkowski, Hogan, and Lewis. That proved to be a miss match for the Jaguars’ linebackers, who attempted to stay with speedy Lewis out of the backfield.
In the first half, James White scored on a five-yard shuffle pass from Brady and a six yards run to put New England up 14-7. Lewis helped set up both touchdowns. On the first drive, he accounting for 51 receiving yards on three receptions. On the second series, Cooks’ 13-yard reception soften the defense, moving the ball to the Tennessee 35. Lewis followed with ten-yard pass from Brady and two carries to gain the 13-yard line. White finished the drive with two carries that resulted in a six-yard scoring run.
Patriot’s defense, inconsistency, and penalties plagued Tennessee’s offense. Mariota was sacked seven times in the second half coupled with three penalties which made it an uphill battle for the Jaguars.
New England’s defensive unit of tackle Adam Butler, linebacker Marquis Flowers, end Trey Flowers, tackle Ricky Jean Francois, linebacker Geneo Grissom, and tackle Deatrich Wise frustrated Tennessee all evening. Each had a sack while Grissom added two.
After White dropped a pass on third and 13 on New England’s first possession of the third quarter, Brady guided the Patriots on scoring drives on its next two possessions to open a 35-7 lead with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Jaguars refuse to give up as Mariota and Jacksonville marched 80-yards in 14-plays, ended it with an 11-yard scoring toss to Cole with 1:55 left. Too little too late.
