New Englang Patriots Continue Their Quest for Perfection with Playoff Win Against the Jaguars

On Saturday night, January 12, the New England Patriots showed once again why they are a forced to be reckoned with and why they went undefeated during the regular season, as they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars at home by a score of 31-20.

The amazing thing about the game was that the Jaguars kept the game close for an entire half as the score at halftime was 14-14. In fact, Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss only had one reception the entire game as the Jaguars double teamed him in coverage for most of the game. Despite the stout Jaguars defense reputation for stopping the run, Patriots running back Laurence Maroney had 122 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady still had a very strong game with 268 yards and only had two in completions the entire game, going 26 for 28 in passing attempts. For the Patriot Wide recievers, Donte Stallworth led the way with 68 yards in catching.

For the Jaguars, the story was about their defense, or lack of it as they struggled to defend the Patriots offense. Coming into the game, the Jaguars knew they couldn't beat the Patriots in a scoring match as they needed to rely on their defense to keep the game close. The Jaguars defense failed to do that and they had much difficulty stopping Tom Brady and the passing attack.

Jaguars quarterback David Gerrard continued his poor play in playoffs as he committed a costly fumble and also was intercepted. Gerrard finished the game with 278 yards passing and 2 passing touchdowns. He was 22 for 33 in passing attempts. Most surprising was the fact that the Jaguars had a lack of success in their two headed running attack with Pro Bowler Fred Taylor and his running mate Maurice Jones Drew. Taylor finished the game with 47 yards rushing and Maurice Jones Drew finished with a paltry 19 yards rushing. With 4:34 left in the game, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison intercepted a Gerrard pass to all but end the game.

The Patriots go on to play the San Diego Chargers who beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Sunday afternoon divisional game. The game will be held in Foxboro. During the regular season the Patriots beat the Chargers.