The Final Four in the NFL has been set. New England will host Jacksonville in the AFC, and Philadelphia will host Minnesota in the NFC. In the AFC, not many expected the Jaguars to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but Jacksonville proved a lot of people wrong in their 45-42 win.
The Patriots didn't play the Jaguars in the regular season, but did hold joint practices with them in August prior to the preseason opener. Also, Tom Coughlin is in his first year as the Jaguars' executive vice president of football operations. Of course, Bill Belichick and the Patriots are very familiar with him from his time as coach of the Giants, which included two Super Bowl wins over New England.
Vegas has set the opening line at minus-9 in favor of New England, but if the divisional round has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
Here's everything there is to know about the Jaguars.
OFFENSE
Blake Bortles is in an AFC championship. Yes, Blake Bortles. But, the Jacksonville offense doesn't run through its quarterback, it goes through rookie running back Leonard Fournette. In the win over the Steelers, the LSU product rushed for 109 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns, but did leave the game briefly with an ankle injury. This is something to watch over the course of the week.
Jacksonville ranked first in the NFL during the regular season in rushing. Fournette led the way with 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games, while Chris Ivory added 382 of his own, and even Bortles chipped in with 322. It is worth noting the Patriots defense ranked second-to-last during the regular season in yards per attempt allowed with 4.7 yards, but it is coming off a very strong performance against Derrick Henry and the Tennessee rushing attack Saturday night.
This is likely where the game will be decided when the Jaguars have the ball -- can they establish the run when New England focuses its defense on taking it away?
Through the air, the Jaguars ranked 17th in the league, as Bortles played well by his standards, but still he's below average by NFL standards. The only chance the Jacksonville passing attack has against the New England defense is taking shots down the field and hoping to hit on one or two. Keenan Cole and Marqise Lee are the two to keep an eye on in that regard.
DEFENSE
This where things get good with the No. 2 ranked Jaguars defense going up against the Tom Brady-led Patriots offense. Jacksonville has allowed 40 or more points in two of its last three games, but in eight games this season it held opponents to single-digits. Also, the unit scored nine defensive touchdowns this season, which is the most scored by a defense since the 2012 Bears.
Jacksonville, who was the No. 1 ranked pass defense, is led by its corners Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, who are among the best in the entire league. It will be interesting to see what they do here, as the Patriots' biggest threat is Rob Gronkowski. Do the Jaguars move one of these players inside to go up against the big tight end? New England has had issues outside the numbers all year, so would it even try throwing at either of them?
The Patriots running backs could be a major part of the game plan, just like against the Titans, but this time on the ground as well. Jacksonville ranked 21st in the league when it came to defending the run. Telvin Smith and Myles Jack are the Jaguars' best tacklers.
Where the game may be decided is can the Jaguars make Brady uncomfortable and get after him? Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson, and Dante Fowler are all dominant pass rushers and will surely test the Patriots' offensive line, which is somewhat banged up after right tackle LaAdrian Waddle went down with a knee injury against the Titans. Ngakoue had 14.5 sacks this season, while Campbell added 12, and both are capable of taking Brady off his game.
Jacksonville's defense will need to keep Brady and the Patriots offense somewhere in the low-to-mid 20s, or even lower because we don't see the Jacksonville offense being able to score like it did against the Steelers.
