DAVID BIANCULLI

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AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
January 21, 2018  | By David Bianculli

CBS, 3:00 p.m. ET

 

History is all on the side of the New England Patriots for today’s AFC Championship Game. With QB Tom Brady (pictured) and coach Bill Belichick at the helm, the Patriots have fought their way to their seventh consecutive AFC title game. When playing at home, as they are here, they’re almost unbeatable, with a 5-1 record when the Super Bowl game is within reach. But the Jacksonville Jaguars frustrated and defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers to get here, and the defense and pass rush were a huge part of that. The moves and countermoves are easy to predict: The Jaguars will pull all sorts of stunts to try to pressure and sack Brady, Brady will try to defeat the blitzes by throwing lots of short passes over the middle to his tight ends and running backs over the middle, and the Jaguars, in turn, will have to delay or stop those routes and receivers. If Brady can perform his usual surgical strikes, the Pats are back in another Super Bowl. If the Jaguars defense finds a way to stop Brady somehow, then the Jaguars – one of four NFL teams never to play in the big game – will make it to their first Super Bowl. And behind much-maligned QB Blake Bortles at that.

 
 
 
 
 
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