Tom Brady’s favourite targets, in a vacuum, are Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, but it’s hard to argue that Danny Amendola hasn’t been the most important receiver over New England’s past four postseasons.
Often taken for granted in the regular season, Amendola just has a knack for stepping up and playing his best when it matters most. He’s as reliable as they come with sure hands and crisp route running, which is why Brady feels so comfortable throwing his way in some of the biggest moments, like he did on Sunday for the two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a key pick-up on third-and-18.
Dola does it.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 21, 2018
@DannyAmendola is 💰. #GoPats pic.twitter.com/F4JdLamLbQ
Patriots can outlast opponents
Bill Belichick rightly gets plenty of credit for his second-half adjustments, but there’s more to New England’s dominance after the intermission than just Xs and Os.
Something that has really stood out in each of the Patriots’ recent double-digit, fourth-quarter comebacks has been their conditioning, especially on the offensive line. Keeping your quarterback mostly clean despite the pass rush knowing you’re throwing every time shouldn’t be easy as the Patriots offensive line makes it look.
Jacksonville’s pass rush was getting to Brady for most of the game before they seemingly ran out of gas, while New England’s line stood tall to form an impenetrable wall.
Everything isn’t a conspiracy
For NFL fans, there is a dichotomy when it comes to the Patriots: one side believes the league and commissioner Roger Goodell are out to get them, while another faction feel New England are the beneficiary of slanted officiating.
The latter group were out in full force Sunday, when Jacksonville picked up six penalties for 98 yards, while the Patriots were flagged once for 10 yards. But just because something is uneven doesn’t mean it’s wrong. All of the Jaguars’ penalties were borderline at worst and obvious at best.
The refs likely missed some calls on New England, but they mostly let the players decide it and one team was simply more disciplined.
The Patriots were called for 1 penalty against the Jaguars
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 21, 2018
It is the fewest penalties called on one team in a playoff game since the 2011 AFC Championship... when the Patriots were called for 1 penalty in a win over the Ravens
Philly dominate in trenches
Football sometimes can seem so simple when the biggest men on the field have the biggest impact. That’s exactly what Philadelphia’s offensive and defensive linemen did to blow out Minnesota as they controlled both sides of the ball.
The Eagles’ pass rush only got to Case Keenum for one sack, but they put him under pressure on 48 per cent of his dropbacks, which resulted in a passer rating of 60.4, according to Pro Football Focus.
Philadelphia’s offensive line, meanwhile, had some slick blocking schemes against the top-ranked scoring defence in the league, opening up running lanes for the backs. The game certainly feels easier when you own the line of scrimmage.
The Eagles defense kept the pressure coming all night, making life difficult for the Vikings offense pic.twitter.com/bbMsz7F4UB
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 22, 2018
Foles swims in the deep end
We shouldn’t be too surprised with Nick Foles’ explosion on Sunday, considering he has a seven-touchdown game to his name, along with a season in which he recorded a 119.2 passer rating.
But he was special to beat Minnesota, especially when it came to taking shots down the field. On passes that travelled 20-plus yards, Foles completed four of six attempts for 172 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 149.3, according to Pro Football Focus.
And he did it against a Vikings defence that allowed the fewest passes of 20-plus yards in the NFL this season (35).
Foles to @TheWorldof_AJ. Six points.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/NPIlrQc4pl
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 22, 2018
9-30-9-82.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/9pLkmiJ5st
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 22, 2018
