The Patriots have advanced to the Super Bowl by winning their 18th straight game of the season, but it wasn’t without a fight as the Chargers came to play.  Tom Brady had one of his worst games of the season but he made big plays when he had to.  Brady completed 22 of 33 passes for 209 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions.  Laurence Maroney picked up the slack for the offense with 122 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Kevin Faulk only carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards but he led the Patriots with 8 catches for 82 yards (10.3 avg).  Wes Welker also had a solid game as he caught 7 passes for 56 yards (8.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Randy Moss was a decoy once again as he only caught one pass for 18 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 14 yards.  The Patriots finished up with 149 yards on 31 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes for 198 yards.

The Patriots Defense bent but it didn’t break yesterday as they kept the Chargers out of the end zone.  Ellis Hobbs (8 tackles, interception) and Tedy Bruschi (8 tackles) led the way for the defense.  The Chargers finished up with 104 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 37 passes for 207 yards.

The Patriots continue their march to an unbeaten record, but the Chargers will be a formidable foe.  After all they did knock out the defending World Champs on their own field last weekend. 

The Chargers come into this game banged up on offense.  It looks as if Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates will all attempt to give it a go.  Rivers has been outstanding in the post season and he always plays with a chip on his shoulder.  Rivers though will be playing with a partially torn ACL so the front line better block well.  Look for the Patriots to blitz more than usual to try to rattle Rivers or knock him out of the game.  But, the Chargers could just decide to feed the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner to try to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Patriots offense.

Chargers defensive end Igor Olshansky could wind up being the new Anthony Smith (Steelers safety) as he was talking trash earlier in the week.  Look for the Patriots to run a few plays his way to try to make him look bad.  It will be fun to watch the Antonio Cromartie vs. Randy Moss matchup as Tom Brady will have to be careful there.  Still, the Patriots could use Moss as a decoy again this week and spread the football around.  The Patriots will also likely run the ball more than usual if they get a lead in this game.

PREDICTION:  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 31, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 21

Bill Belichick learned from his mistakes coaching the Cleveland Browns in the early 90′s and he’s used the lessons learned to his advantage in New England.  Belichick has now coached 8 seasons for the Patriots and he’s compiled a 91-37 regular season record (.711 %) including a sterling 16-0 season in 2007.  Belichick has also been outstanding in the post season with the Patriots as he has compiled a 13-2 record (.867 %) with Super Bowl Championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004.  Belichick now has been an NFL head coach for 13 seasons in which he has compiled a 127-81 record (.611 %) during the regular season and 14-3 (.824 %) in the post season.

The Jaguars gave the Patriots a fight before they got knocked out.  Tom Brady completed his first 16 passes (post-season NFL record) of this game.  Brady finished up completing 26 of 28 passes for 262 yards with 3 TD passes.  Laurence Maroney gave the offense balance as he rushed for 122 yards on 22 carries (5.5 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 40 yards.  Kevin Faulk only rushed for 9 yards on 4 carries (2.3 ypc) but he also caught 5 passes for 36 yards (7.2 avg).  Donte’ Stallworth (3 rec, 68 yards) and Wes Welker (9 rec, 54 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Patriots in this game.  TE Ben Watson only caught 2 passes for 12 yards….but they were both TDs.  Randy Moss only caught 1 pass for 14 yards in this game.  The Patriots rushed for 145 yards on 29 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 28 passes for 258 yards.

Junior Seau (10 tackles), James Sanders (9 tackles) and Rodney Harrison (7 tackles, interception) led the way for the Patriots on defense.  The Jaguars finished up with 80 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes for 270 yards.

The Jacksonville Jaguars rolled into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers at Heinz Field but their task this week will be much tougher.  Now they have to deal with the 16-0 Patriots in Foxboro.  Not only that but Tom Brady always saves his best for the post season as he has a career record of 12-2.

The Jaguars will try to  push the Patriots around in the running game.  The Jags have a physical offensive line to couple with Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor to pound on the interior of the Patriots defense.  That makes NT Vince Wilfork, Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau the focal point of the defense for the Patriots in this game.  Also, QB David Garrard isn’t afraid to take off either as evidenced last week when he led the Jaguars in rushing.  Garrard had been effective throwing the football until last week when he kept throwing the ball to Steelers defensive backs.  He can’t do that again this week because corners Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs are big time playmakers who can take any interception to the house.

The Patriots will try to jump on the Jaguars early with the passing game to take the Jaguars out of their offense.  The Jaguars don’t have much of a pass rush so they will likely be at the mercy of Tom Brady and his receivers.  That is bad news for the Jaguars as Brady will move the football around to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Donte’ Stallworth and Ben Watson.  Still, Brady must be careful when dealing with cornerback Rashean Mathis who intercepted two passes last week against the Steelers taking one of them to the house.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 34, JAGUARS 21

Tom Brady had the most incredible season ever for an NFL QB as he set a all-time record for TD passes in one season with a amazing 50!  Brady played in all 16 games this year for the Patriots and he completed 398 of 578 passes (68.9%) for 4,806 yards with 50 TD passes and 8 interceptions (117.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 37 times for 98 yards (2.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Brady has now played in 112 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,294 of 3,642 passes (63%) for 26,370 yards with 197 TD passes and 86 interceptions (92.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 276 times for 533 yards (1.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

Backup Matt Cassel didn’t have much of a chance to show what he could do this season.  He played in 6 games for the Patriots this year and he completed 4 of 7 passes (57.1%) for 38 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception (32.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Cassel has now played in 14 games in his NFL career and he has completed 22 of 39 passes (56.4%) for 253 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions (71.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 12 times for 28 yards (2.3 ypc) with a TD run.

Undrafted rookie Matt Gutierrez was the #3 QB for the Patriots this season.  He played in 5 games and he completed his only pass of the season…..for 15 yards.  He also carried the ball 5 times for a loss of 13 yards (-2.6 ypc).

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