Patriots vs Jaguars

By Scott Burgess
Kickoff: Sat, Jan 12, 2008 8:00 PM ET

The New England Patriot(-13) play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars(+13), at Gillette Stadium, for a chance at playing in the AFC Championship Final.

The Jacksonville Jaguars(11-5) might be the only team capable of beating the Patriots. The Jags have the running game, defense and bad weather experience to win. RB Maurice Jones-Drew had a great game against the Pats, in 2006, in which he had RUSHED for 195 YDS for 2 TD and he made 4 REC for 69 YDS with 1 TD. He's a multi-purpose player who could prove useful going up against the Pats 9th ranked RUSH defense. QB David Garrard had an off day last week against the Steelers throwing 2 INT, considering he only threw up 3 INT all season. He can't afford to do this against the Pats. Their PASS game is ranked 17th and they may be in trouble going up against the Pats 6th ranked PASS defense. The Jags are currently 5-3 on the road.
The N.E. Patriots(16-0) finished off their perfect season with a squeaker of a win over the N.Y. Giants, 38-35. The Pats showed signs of weakness against the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and the N.Y. Giants. In all these games the Pats had to come back from behind to win. The key to all these games was putting pressure on QB Tom Brady. Everybody knows the Pats have the best offense in the league, so no need to go into detail there. The Pats will have to watch the Jags running game as they have two of the best RB in the league.

Bottom Line: I like the Jags chances of spoiling the Pats 13-point spread, but if your a betting man, may be look at the Jags to win. The Jags will be returning some of their best defensive players who have been hurt since the opening of the season. It's going to be a battle. Go Jaguars!