Patriots-Jaguars Quasi Live Blog: Fourth Quarter

On a huge 3rd and 5 at the start of the quarter, Wilford makes a great catch, then gets an extra 15 from the late hit from Model Citizen Rodney Harrison. Patriot Fan is Outraged, and will call its solicitor! Garrard finally runs and gets nine. On second and one, they stay basic with Fred for the first. Williams gets wide open and collects a rare bad ball for another 25, and the Jags are at the 21. Garrard avoids Harrison on a blitz and throws incomplete. MoJo shows he's special with a 3 yard gain. Simms shows he's an idiot by saying they don't need a touchdown, and MoJo slams out a first from a toss in the flat to avoid the blitz. First down, Jags at the Patriots 9, and MoJo tells the crowd to shush. Don't do that, Mojo, those people have long memories and attornies on retainer for psychological distress!

Mojo is met by Seau in the backfield and treats him like an old uncle, then gets 2 more. From the 7, Harrison drops an INT in a bad mistake by Garrard, and it's third and goal. Jones can't haul in a jump ball, and the Jags choose Scobee, like they've got a defense. He hits from 25, and it's Patriots 28, Jaguars 20. We're just two points from the over!

Jags are lucky to avoid a late hit on the kickoff return, and the Patriots start from their 20. With 9:39 left, the Jags finally spring a run blitz, and Maroney gets a yard. Oh, that canny Jack del Rio -- he's saved up his blitzes for just the last ten minutes! On 2nd and 9, Stallworth reminds us all that he's in the game too, with a tip drill catch off his face down the sideline that goes for 49. Huge play, and the Patriots are on the 26 -- but honestly, why not get beaten by the big play, where at least the clock doesn't run as much?

Maroney gets two, then Stallworth again for 7. Brady is at 96% completion right now, which on the bright side, would at least get Simms out of the record books. On third and one, Welker drops a ball that would have gotten him a first... and Gostkowski comes out to try again from 35. He hits, and We Have The Over! Patriots 31, Jaguars 20. (And if that bastard Gostkowski had hit the earlier field goal, we'd also have the cover. Yes, I'm bitter.)

The Jags try trickery on the kickoff return and get nothing from it; they'll start from their own 15, not that bad field position has bothered them much all night. With 6:31 left in the game, MoJo goes for 12, and it's time for everyone's favorite game... watch the Patriots opponent fail to use the clock wisely! A broken play gets Garrard a yard and keeps the clock running. Garrard also looks a little woozy, but not enough to miss MoJo for 4 in the flat. Third and 5, clock still ticking away under five minutes... and Garrard is betrayed by Northcutt again, though Garrard probably should have ran for the first.

The game ends on this play if the Jags don't get it... and they call their second timeout on top of things. Northcutt saves the game and Samuel then gets another 15 yards, while Harrison cries. That gets them to the Patriots 45 with 4:34 left, and We Still Have A Ballgame, Kind Of.

Adalius Thomas finally gets his name said with a nice block on a first down pass, but the ball falls to the turf. Garrard avoids a sack and gets four like a young Donovan McNabb (yes, I went there); he just has a calm sense while running that's noteworthy. Third and six from the Patriots 41, need at least another first down to think about the field goal... and the ball pinballs around on tight coverage to Lewis. 4th and 6 and we're back to The Last Play, and then Rodney Harrison does what he always does, which is end the game with a pick.

The Pats have the ball with four minutes left, and the only suspense left is whether or not they will cover. Earlier in the year, this would be a lock, but in the second half of the year, the Pats have played it close to the vest, and they give it to Maroney twice for 2 yards. On third and 8 with 2:38 left, Brady calls time; one suspects they will keep it on the ground, but then again, Moss doesn't have a touchdown in this game, and the Patriots do enjoy their little Statements. They send three wide, and Stallworth embarrasses the DB with a stiff arm and runs through him. Moss didn't do much in this game, but Stallworth and Welker certainly did.

Brady ends the night at 26 for 28, and one of the two was an easy and bad drop. The Jags certainly gave him a lot of easy throws to make, but he made them all. This isn't news, but he's the best QB on the planet right now (assuming, of course, that Eli's Older Brother doesn't show him up in a week).

They give it to Maroney a few more times, and our great dream of a spectacularly cheap cover dies on a third and 3 play where he doesn't take it to the house. But the Patriots will have to finally punt the ball, which has to count as some sort of moral victory, right? And that's your ball game.

The Jags are a nice little team, and if Garrard can make the leap from deluxe game manager to actual game winner, they could be more than that. But there was nothing particularly impressive about their game plan tonight. No defensive wrinkles, no sign that they learned anything from the Eagle or Raven games. And from a team with a coach that seemed suspect, in a division with the Colts and a conference with the Pats... that just makes you a consistent second round loser. (And if Fred Taylor gets old, leading to too much wear and tear on Mojo, maybe not even that.)

As for the Patriots and their fans, one has to assume that they felt satisfied for minutes on end with this win, and that thos minutes started when Harrison made the pick, and ended when the clock showed zeroes. They'll either get the real Super Bowl when the Colts come to town, or the first of two coronation games when the Chargers swagger in. They certainly didn't show any weakness that we all didn't know about already, along with the grim possibility that Brady can actually turn it up a notch more.

Thanks for riding with this, and we'll be back tomorrow...