As for:
“The Pats secondary played well off the Jax receivers, I suppose to ward off the big play, but I was confused by that strategy, given that Ernest Wilford, Matt Jones and Marcedes Lewis don’t seem the types to get behind anybody.”

I think the Pats’ approach is to take away the strength of the opposing offense but take no chances elsewhere.

If the opposing offense can’t execute and falls behind by a score or two, there’s no need to take any chances on D to let the team get back into it quick. Brady and the Pats will hold serve and keep scoring until the game is out of reach.

If on the other hand the team can keep pace for a half with the Pats’ ability to rack up 10+ play scoring drives, then the Pats can adjust to a more aggressive defense, bringing more people, playing some man-to-man, jumping routes that were open earlier in the game, etc. That was the pattern for both this game and the Giant game, and frankly has me even more confident than ever about this team.

Some Sox fans say that Francona’s biggest strength in the playoffs is recognizing the way that pitching must be managed in a must-win game. I think you’ve got the same thing in spades with Belichick. You can’t shut everything down all game, but you can be strategic in giving your team the best chance to win.

What a fun team to watch. Amazing.

The Jags were in position to be in position to tie or win (convoluted, yes). Had they converted those 2 FGs into TDs, then they might have been driving to tie or win late, instead of needing 2 scores.

You really can’t fault that. They needed to make a couple more plays, but the better team outdid them in those instances. So they fell short in execution.

Certainly no shame in the Jags’ performance or their planning.

Maroney is a beast, and that blast of speed on the last long run was sensational. Watson dropped a pass, but somehow I think we can give him a pass.

All that said, I never felt danger for the Pats, so perhaps they kept their top gear in reserve.

Thanks for a great site.