David J. Phillip/AP
- The New England Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-20, on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl.
- The Patriots trailed 20-10 in the fourth quarter before completing yet another incredible comeback.
- While Tom Brady and Danny Amendola were crucial to the comeback, the defense was vital in shutting down Jacksonville’s offense in the fourth quarter.
The New England Patriots did it again.
On Sunday, the Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-20, to advance to the Super Bowl, completing a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback to crush the Jaguars.
Not unlike the Super Bowl comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, the Patriots were simply getting outplayed through much of the game. The possibility of the Patriots losing — to Blake Bortles and the upstart Jaguars ,of all teams — began to seem real.
The Patriots, however, authored a comeback slowly and steadily, with various important plays, not just in one or two big chunks.
Trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, the Patriots fumbled on a long run from Dion Lewis, but instead of crumbling, held the Jags to a three-and-out. On the ensuing drive, Tom Brady threw for four first downs, getting one huge completion on 3rd-and-18, before eventually hitting Danny Amendola in the end zone to make it 17-10.
The Patriots defense was just as vital to the mission as Brady and the offense. In the fourth quarter, after forcing the fumble on Lewis, the Jaguars ran just 17 plays in total, having to punt or turn the ball over on downs.
After being buried deep on their own side of the field, a short punt gave the Patriots a short field. Brady masterfully carved his way to the goal line and eventually hit Amendola for a second touchdown, with Amendola pulling off one of the best and most important toe-taps the NFL has ever seen.
Bortles had his chance to create his own comeback. Trailing 23-20, the Jaguars got into field goal range, but decided to go for it on fourth down with 1:47 to play. Bortles’ deep pass got tipped by Stephon Gilmore, the Patriots’ expensive offseason cornerback acquisition.
Now the Patriots will return to the Super Bowl, for the third time in four years, hoping to continue to build on their legacy.
“Amazing,” a speechless Brady told CBS after the game of the comeback. Indeed, no team routinely overcomes such odds as the Patriots.
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