AFC Championship
New England-24 Jacksonville-20
1) I thought the Jags played a terrific game in the beginning. They let Blake Bortles get the ball out of his hands early, they spread the field, and they were aggressive. It worked as they built a 14-3 lead on the Pats in the first half. Plus, outside of giving up a field goal on the first drive of the game, they did a nice job on Tom Brady and that Patriots offense, and it looked like things were really going Jacksonville's way.
2) The turning point in the first half was when the Jags had a 3rd and 7 at the NE 44 with 2:23 in the half. They got a first down but the play was called off due to a delay of game on Jacksonville. The next play, Bortles got sacked and they were forced to punt. The Pats got the ball back, went right down the field with the aid of a helmet-to-helmet hit on Rob Gronkowski and pass interference call that brought the ball down to the Jax 13. A few plays later, James White scored from the 1 yard line and it was 14-10 heading into halftime.
3) After two field goals gave the Jags a 20-10 lead in the 4th quarter, the next key moment was the 3rd and 18 play that Brady converted. With 10:49 left, Brady looked over the middle and hit Danny Amendola for 26 yards and a first down. The Pats made it 20-17 on that drive when he hit Amendola again for a 9 yard touchdown with 8:44 left in the game. The 3rd and 18 was the play of the game.
4) After a short punt and a nice return by Amendola, the Pats took over at the Jags 30 with 4:58 left in the game. You knew Brady was going to take them down the field for the winning score. Five plays later, Brady hit Amendola for a 4 yard pass to take the lead for NE 24-20 with 2:48 left in the game.
5) The Jags got a first down but Bortles had a pass knocked away by Stephon Gilmore on a 4th and 15 play, and the Pats ran out the clock and put the game away.
6) It was a valiant effort by the Jaguars. They pushed the Patriots to the limit, and they could have won this game. The Myles Jack strip of Dion Lewis in the 4th quarter at 20-10 made me think that this was Jacksonville's game but it wasn't meant to be. Good effort and good run in the playoffs by the Jags this year.
7) I went into the game thinking the Patriots were going to win and despite all the talk about Tom Brady's hand injury, he played well and the Pats did what they had to do to get back to the Super Bowl. It is their 10th Super Bowl appearance in team history and they are looking for the 6th Lombardi Trophy in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. It is just amazing what they have accomplished as a duo.
NFC Championship
Philadelphia-38 Minnesota-7
1) You had to feel good if you are a Vikings fan after the way they started this game. Case Keenum hits Kyle Rudolph on a 25 yard TD pass and it is 7-0 Vikings right away. The way the Vikings finished last week, and the way they went right down the field on the Eagles made it seem like it was going to be their day and their year.
2) The game turned when Case Keenum got picked off late in the first quarter, and Patrick Robinson returned it for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Minnesota had all the momentum in the world and the pick-six got Philly back into the game, got the crowd going, and it light a spark in the Eagles. Minnesota never recovered from that.
3) The other key sequence that turned this game was late in the first half. The Eagles led 14-7 and Minnesota was driving and had the ball at the Philly 16 facing a 3rd and 5 with only 3:25 left in the half. At worst, they are getting a field goal to make it 14-10, but Keenum got hit, fumbled, and the Eagles recovered. They went 76 yards in 7 plays and it was capped off by a back-breaking Nick Foles 53 yard TD pass to Alshon Jeffrey, who was wide open, to make it 21-7 with 1:09 left in the half. Then, the Vikings are forced to punt and only used 40 seconds of game clock and the Eagles took over at their own 20 with only 29 seconds left. Three straight completions by Foles moved the ball all the way down to the Vikings 21 yard line, and they kicked a field goal to make it 24-7 with no time left in the half. The Vikings went from being down 14-7 with only 3:25 left in the half at the Philly 16 to being down 24-7 going into halftime. That was an awful sequence for the Vikings and it really put the game away for the Eagles.
4) The rest of the game was basically a party for the Eagles and their fans. Foles hit Torrey Smith on a 41 yard TD to give them a 31-7 on the first possession of the second half, and Philly scored again on a Jay Ajayi touchdown to make it 38-7 in the third quarter. Speaking of Foles, he was tremendous. He finished 26-33 for 352 yards and 3 TDs. He was unbelievable and it was a fantastic performance as he led the Eagles to the NFC Championship.
5) The Vikings are left with the memories of their amazing win in the Divisional Round over the Saints, but this is a huge disappointment that they didn't win this game. Their defense got torched, and the ride for Case Keenum and that offense finally ended. It was a tough loss because everything was set up for them to go to the Super Bowl. They didn't have to worry about Seattle and Green Bay in the playoffs this year, and they were facing a Philly team without MVP candidate Carson Wentz. They were road favorites going into this game and everyone was on their bandwagon. They got dominated by the Eagles, and this game was over by the 3rd quarter. This will be a very tough pill for them to swallow going forward.
6) Give the Eagles credit. They responded in these playoffs without their best player (Wentz). No one picked them to beat the Falcons in the Divisional Round and they won as home underdogs. No one picked them to beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game and they won as home underdogs. They lost Wentz in December and other key members on offense and defense, yet they still finished 13-3 and won the NFC title. I never gave them a chance in any of these two games, and I didn't think Nick Foles had it in him to play that well. It was a surprising run for the Eagles, and now they head to their third Super Bowl appearance and a showdown with the Patriots with a chance to win their first ever Lombardi Trophy hanging in the balance.
1) You had to feel good if you are a Vikings fan after the way they started this game. Case Keenum hits Kyle Rudolph on a 25 yard TD pass and it is 7-0 Vikings right away. The way the Vikings finished last week, and the way they went right down the field on the Eagles made it seem like it was going to be their day and their year.
2) The game turned when Case Keenum got picked off late in the first quarter, and Patrick Robinson returned it for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Minnesota had all the momentum in the world and the pick-six got Philly back into the game, got the crowd going, and it light a spark in the Eagles. Minnesota never recovered from that.
3) The other key sequence that turned this game was late in the first half. The Eagles led 14-7 and Minnesota was driving and had the ball at the Philly 16 facing a 3rd and 5 with only 3:25 left in the half. At worst, they are getting a field goal to make it 14-10, but Keenum got hit, fumbled, and the Eagles recovered. They went 76 yards in 7 plays and it was capped off by a back-breaking Nick Foles 53 yard TD pass to Alshon Jeffrey, who was wide open, to make it 21-7 with 1:09 left in the half. Then, the Vikings are forced to punt and only used 40 seconds of game clock and the Eagles took over at their own 20 with only 29 seconds left. Three straight completions by Foles moved the ball all the way down to the Vikings 21 yard line, and they kicked a field goal to make it 24-7 with no time left in the half. The Vikings went from being down 14-7 with only 3:25 left in the half at the Philly 16 to being down 24-7 going into halftime. That was an awful sequence for the Vikings and it really put the game away for the Eagles.
4) The rest of the game was basically a party for the Eagles and their fans. Foles hit Torrey Smith on a 41 yard TD to give them a 31-7 on the first possession of the second half, and Philly scored again on a Jay Ajayi touchdown to make it 38-7 in the third quarter. Speaking of Foles, he was tremendous. He finished 26-33 for 352 yards and 3 TDs. He was unbelievable and it was a fantastic performance as he led the Eagles to the NFC Championship.
5) The Vikings are left with the memories of their amazing win in the Divisional Round over the Saints, but this is a huge disappointment that they didn't win this game. Their defense got torched, and the ride for Case Keenum and that offense finally ended. It was a tough loss because everything was set up for them to go to the Super Bowl. They didn't have to worry about Seattle and Green Bay in the playoffs this year, and they were facing a Philly team without MVP candidate Carson Wentz. They were road favorites going into this game and everyone was on their bandwagon. They got dominated by the Eagles, and this game was over by the 3rd quarter. This will be a very tough pill for them to swallow going forward.
6) Give the Eagles credit. They responded in these playoffs without their best player (Wentz). No one picked them to beat the Falcons in the Divisional Round and they won as home underdogs. No one picked them to beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game and they won as home underdogs. They lost Wentz in December and other key members on offense and defense, yet they still finished 13-3 and won the NFC title. I never gave them a chance in any of these two games, and I didn't think Nick Foles had it in him to play that well. It was a surprising run for the Eagles, and now they head to their third Super Bowl appearance and a showdown with the Patriots with a chance to win their first ever Lombardi Trophy hanging in the balance.
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