New England Patriots: 5 observations from AFC Championship victory

The New England Patriots will return to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship by a score of 24-20.

Well, what a game folks. What a game. That’s really all there is to say about it. As a New England Patriots fan, this was the perfect scenario. Score first, Go down by double digits. Mount a heroic comeback. All while listening to the haters make excuses about this that and the other thing.

This was truly a team win. Everyone did their job and was crucial to the outcome of this game. The most important thing, however, was the resilience. It’s nothing new with the Patriots, but it never hurts to be reminded of it.

With their backs against the wall, the Pats did what the Pats do best: execute. Oh, and they did most of it without one of their best players, Rob Gronkowski. With the big fella sidelined by a concussion, everyone had to step up. And boy did they.

What made the win even sweeter were the complaints from non-Patriots fans about how the Pats paid off the refs. It’s the most basic excuse there is. At least accuse Bill Belichick of sleeping with Blake Bortles girlfriend or something. Be creative guys!

Oh man. I don’t think this will ever get old. Welcome back to my 5 observations blog, where I tell you 5 things from the game that I considered notable. Because of the circumstances, this one is going to be, like last week’s, playoff-based. In the words of the Kekumbas from the movie Hardball, “We going to the ship! We going to the ship!”

Danny Amendola

There’s not much else to it. Danny Amendola. That’s the observation. He put the offense on his back and made play after play after play.

He recorded 7 catches for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns, and even added 20 yards passing. It’s a nice stat line, but it doesn’t do justice to what Dola did on Sunday.

Whenever the Patriots were in a tight spot, Amendola was who Brady looked to. 3rd and 18? Amendola. 4th and 2? Amendola. Need a touchdown to take the lead? Amendola. He was always open when Tom Brady needed him.

A lot of people consider Amendola to be the poor man’s Julian Edelman, but that’s absolutely wrong. Amendola has some of the best hands in the NFL, and he showed it on Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, Edelman is amazing, but let’s not take away from Amendola’s skill set.

When he and Brady are on the same page, he’s unstoppable. TB12 puts in in places that only he can reach, and he hauls it in every time. He’s going to be huge against the Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday.

Must contain receiving RBs

For every positive, there’s a negative. And by negative, I mean an area in which there’s room to improve. For the Patriots, that’s covering running backs in the passing game.

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The Patriots did a great job of putting pressure on Blake Bortles, but he was often able to find his safety valve out wide. When he did that, the Jags gained some good yardage.

Corey Grant caught 3 passes for 59 yards, Tommy Bohanon caught 1 for 20 yards, and Leonard Fournette and T.J. Yeldon combined for 4 catches for 19 yards.

That’s a little over 12 yards per reception for the Jaguars, and almost all of the receiving yards were after the catch. That’s the biggest issue.

When the RBs were covered, they didn’t have anywhere to go. When they were uncovered out wide, that’s when they gained big chunks of yardage.

Philadelphia has some dynamic running backs on their roster, so it’s absolutely imperative that the New England Patriots contain them in the passing game. Our front 7 is strong, but we must be able to set the edge and cover RBs in the passing game. It’s a must.

Brady’s bionic hand

Imagine thinking the TB12 Method is a sham? That must be a miserable life to live. It’s like having aliens land in your front yard and still not believing in aliens.

What we’re witnessing with Tom Brady right now is absolutely incredible. On Wednesday, he got injured in a freak accident, resulting in a gash on his throwing hand. It would require stitches.

He didn’t practice Thursday, and was finally able to throw on Friday and Saturday. However, there were concerns that he wouldn’t be able to take snaps because of his gimpy hand. There were rumors that the injury might hinder his performance. Rumors that we might see Brian Hoyer in the AFC Championship game.

In press conferences, all Brady said in regards to the injury was “we’ll see”. And after the game, he made everyone who doubted him look like a fool. It sounds like a Bible verse: “and on the 6th day he said “we’ll see”, and they saw.”

The Greek Gods ate nectar and ambrosia, but did they eat nightshades? Heirlooms? Probably. Tom Brady has found the elixir of life, and at this rate, he might just live forever.

Let’s talk about the referees

Let’s address what everyone is talking about. And by everyone, I mean people like Max Kellerman, Seth Wickersham, and other people without much between the ears.

This time, the Patriots haters are saying “the Patriots get every call” and “the NFL is rigged, New England paid the refs”. Really, guys? Really? Did you even watch the game?

News flash, not every pass interference call is a result of biased officiating. It’s blasphemous to take away from what the Patriots do year in and year out by claiming the referees are on the Patriots side.

The thing that’s really funny is that there was maybe 1 blown call during the game. The refs probably shouldn’t have blown the play dead when Myles Jack stripped Dion Lewis. Otherwise, everything was fair, in my opinion.

Both pass interference calls were legit, and the hit on Gronk was absolutely illegal. If you’re going to argue about something, argue the rule, not the call.

People continually attack the New England Patriots character and try to find a way to knock them down a peg and I won’t stand for it!

Bill Belichick… Smiling?

The game itself was amazing, but what we witnessed at the game’s conclusion was spectacular. Halley’s Comet passes more frequently than what we saw when the clock expired. Yes, we saw Bill Belichick smile.

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you can expect social media to stop in its tracks and admire. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Let’s break down the smile.

It started off with some ferocious clapping, to show his pleasure with the team’s performance. They he quickly transitioned to a fist pump with an exclamation. He was excited.

Finally, he looked around for a few seconds, and triumphantly threw his hands in the air like Frank Reynolds after winning a wrestling match. He couldn’t contain his joy.

And then, like it was a mirage, the smile was gone. It didn’t carry over to the press conference (neither did his sleeves), but that was a surprise to no one.

Luckily, people documented the momentous moment in NFL history. What a time to be alive.

Moving forward

Well, this is it folks. Our final “moving forward” slide. All that’s left is the big game. The New England Patriots are headed to Minnesota to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

The Eagles are a difficult opponent, but that’s never stopped the Patriots before. We’ll be prepared, healthy, and ready to go on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Eagles are almost the opposite of the Jaguars on offense, in that they have a competent QB and receivers who can make big plays. They don’t rely on their ground game, they attack you through the air. Hence their motto: “Fly Eagles Fly”.

Next: New England Patriots: Why fans should enjoy these games while they last

It’s going to be a challenge, that much is for certain. No Super Bowl comes easy. But you can never count the New England Patriots out. It doesn’t matter the score or how much time is left on the clock. We’re always in a position to win.

Let’s go get ring number 6.