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In Sunday’s 24-20 AFC championship victory over the Jacksonville , the defense got its chance to secure the Patriots’ record 10th Super Bowl appearance.
Jacksonville entered the game with the best red-zone scoring percentage in NFL, scoring touchdowns on 67.9 percent of trips this season (40 on 56 drives). The Jaguars scored touchdowns on both of their red-zone trips in the first half, as quarterback Blake Bortles had his way with short and intermediate routes to pile up first downs.
It added up to a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead, and left Gillette Stadium in stunned silence as New England’s hopes of getting a chance to defend its Super Bowl title seemed to be dwindling.
But Jacksonville got conservative over the final 30 minutes, much like the Atlanta Falcons did with 28-3 lead in last year’s Super Bowl collapse against New England. The Patriots seized on it and the Jaguars’ offense never got closer than the Patriots’ 25 in the second half.
”We put ourselves in position to come back and just keep fighting,” defensive end Tray Flowers said. ”We knew they were going to run the ball, but we kept fighting and it was a fourth-quarter game.”
The most telling example came after the Patriots took their final lead of the game on Danny Amendola’s 4-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.
The Jaguars initially went back to their success in the first half , starting the drive with an 8-yard completion from Bortles to Marqise Lee, followed by a 29-yard pass to Dede Westbrook to set Jacksonville up on New England’s 38.
But the Patriots reset, and after an incompletion by Bortles on first down, linebackers Kyle Van Noy and James Harrison got to Bortles for a sack Womens Pavel Buchnevich Jersey , prying the ball loose. Jaguars tackle Cam Robinson recovered the fumble, but it set up a third-and-19.
New England kept the pressure on Bortles and he could only manage a 4-yard completion to James O’Shaughnessy.
”They had maybe one or two plays that we talk about this time of year,” safety Devin McCourty said. ”Sixteen games, a play or two may have success, but (Patriots defensive coordinator) Matt (Patricia) said it best: It wasn’t a big adjustment that you needed to do; it was just needing to play aggressively.”
With Jacksonville facing fourth-and-15 on its 43, cornerback Stephon Gilmore reached in front of Bortles’ pass to O’Shaughnessy to force a turnover on downs.
It was a special moment for Gilmore, who battled injuries and inconsistent play after signing a five-year, $65 million contract in the offseason.
”It wasn’t the biggest play I’ve made, but it was definitely one of the most important,” he said. ”To come from where I came from last year, and be a part of this great team … I love it and that’s why I decided to come here.”
For Bortles, it was his first loss this season when he didn’t commit a turnover. He was previously 8-0.
”We had a two-minute drive at the end of the game to win the AFC championship Blake Comeau Jersey , so there’s not a whole lot more you can ask for than that,” Bortles said. ”You’ve got to take advantage of that and find a way to win the game.”
And now the Patriots will have a chance at their sixth Super Bowl trophy, which would tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most ever.
McCourty said the defense is invigorated by the opportunity.
”This team is battle-tested,” McCourty said. ”You go through ups and downs. You go through adversity. … We just keep giving ourselves a chance to win, and the hard work pays off.”
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Falcons coach Dan Quinn had good reason not to worry about Julio Jones showing up for training camp.
Jones told Quinn weeks ago he’d report on time, even as the wide receiver sought to have his contract renegotiated. A training camp holdout appeared to be Jones’ best path to a new deal.
Finally, the Falcons announced close to midnight on Wednesday they’d reached an agreement to renegotiate Jones’ deal next year. The news came about 16 hours before Thursday’s deadline for players to report.
The Falcons open training camp on Friday.
”I probably didn’t feel the same stress that you and the fan base had,” Quinn said at a news conference on Thursday. ”There were some reports regarding him not coming. I’d known he was coming to camp for a while. That’s part of good communication, player to coaches.”
The Falcons announced Jones reported before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Quinn said he spoke with Jones earlier this month when the receiver participated in an annual offseason passing camp in California led by quarterback Matt Ryan.
”It was probably during that time that I felt comfortable he was coming to camp,” Quinn said.
The reassurance from Jones was especially important after he did not participate in the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp in June.
Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were in good spirits as they discussed how they avoided the potential distraction of a training camp holdout by one of the team’s most prominent players.
It has been a good week for the Falcons’ leadership team. Quinn and Dimitroff have new three-year contract extensions, which were announced on Wednesday.
Jones, a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection Womens Kyle Palmieri Jersey , wasn’t happy that a flurry of new contracts signed by other top NFL wide receivers moved him down the list of top-paid players at the position.
He is entering the third year of his five-year, $71.5 million contract, including $47 million in guaranteed money.
The Falcons managed to make Jones happy with an undisclosed financial ”adjustment” without a dramatic change to their salary cap position for 2018. Dimitroff wouldn’t reveal details of the new agreement.
The biggest reward for Jones was the assurance the team will rework his contract following the season. That promise was delivered with more than a handshake.
”Papers are written up, sitting on a desk waiting to be signed,” Dimitroff said.
The agreement preserves Dimitroff’s flexibility in his efforts to negotiate contract extensions for defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, offensive guard Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen.
The Falcons already agreed to a five-year, $150 million extension with quarterback Matt Ryan, the most lucrative deal in NFL history, this offseason.
Ryan’s contract and talks with players moving closer to free agency left little financial space to make big changes to Jones’ deal before 2019.
”We felt like we came to a good agreement,” Dimitroff said. ”We were very creative with how we put this together.”
Dimitroff said talks with Jones’ agent, Jimmy Sexton, were ”never contentious at all Cam Fowler Jersey , at least from our perspective.”
Jones is expected to talk with reporters on Friday, when the Falcons have their first practice of training camp. He was not seen during the 30-minute period reporters were able to view players reporting to the team’s practice facility.
Jones’ teammates seemed to have little concern about the status of the team’s top receiver.
”Oh, I don’t know what’s going on with him,” offensive guard Andy Levitre said when asked about the team’s agreement with Jones. ”He’s coming? I’m expecting everybody to be here, I guess.”
Added cornerback Brian Poole: ”That’s exciting. That’s definitely exciting. Yeah. That’s exciting.”
Poole said players don’t get involved in teammates’ contract talks.
”When it comes to that kind of stuff, everybody kind of worries about himself,” Poole said.
But when it comes to Quinn and Dimitroff, having one of the league’s top receivers on the practice field is crucial to the team’s hopes for a third straight playoff appearance.
”I sleep a hell of a lot better at night,” Quinn said.
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