CBS/NFL
- The New England Patriots overcame a 10-point deficit on Sunday to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and reach the Super Bowl.
- Danny Amendola caught a high pass from Tom Brady in the back of the end zone and made an incredible catch to secure the game-winning touchdown.
- Brady on Monday said that the Patriots discuss every week how to throw the ball in that situation, and Amendola knew where to go get it.
The New England Patriots stunned the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday by overcoming a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win 24-20 and advance to the Super Bowl.
With 2:48 left in the game, Tom Brady fired a pass from the four-yard line to the back of the end zone to find Danny Amendola for the go-ahead touchdown. Amendola pulled down a high pass, and completed the catch with an incredible toe-tap in the end zone as he fell down to put the Patriots up for good.
While Amendola’s catch was incredible, it apparently was part of the play design. Brady explained on WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan” on Tuesday that the Patriots routinely practice and discuss throws to the back of the end zone, noting that he throws it high intentionally to keep it away from the defense.
“The thing about throwing the ball in the red area, you always want to throw the ball high on the back end line,” Brady said. “You never want to throw the ball, obviously, to the middle of people’s bodies when they’re in the back of the end zone. So if you’re going to err, you’d always rather err high because you’re just never giving the defense a chance.
“We talk about high throws on the back end line every week, and I think those guys know where to expect it.”
Brady credited Amendola for making the catch.
“The fact that Danny was as close as he was to the back line and made the catch and had the awareness to get both feet down and then secure the catch in a way that left no doubt in people’s mind, was incredible,” Brady said. “He’s got incredible hands, incredible body awareness, and body control.”
Here was the play:
The play may have even looked familiar to the Jaguars, who allowed Amendola to make a similar catch in 2015.
Jaguars have seen the exact play that Amendola caught for the game-winner today.
2015, Week 3. Brady’s 400th career TD pic.twitter.com/WT5o5H8zhA
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) January 22, 2018
The Patriots preach preparation and discipline more than perhaps any team in the league, and their fourth-quarter execution showed how they put it to practice.
Brady and the receivers are drilled each week about how and where to throw it in the back of the end zone, and with the Super Bowl on the line, they pulled it off.
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