FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Patriots owned middle of the field:
The Patriots don't have a true prototypical No. 1 receiver that dominates the game from outside the numbers. With Tom Brady at the helm, they don't need one. Inside the numbers is where Tom Brady is at his best. The Jaguars had no answer for the combination of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. The duo consistently carved their way through the Jaguars secondary.
Inexplicably, Rob Gronkowski was left uncovered far too many times. He gashed the Jaguars for a 43-yard gain on the Patriots first possession of the game. Perhaps there was a blown coverage but he ran alone up the seam for a long gain that led to the Patriots first touchdown drive. Later in the first half Gronkowski had another 27-yard reception that eventually resulted in a touchdown just before the half.
In a nut shell, Brady and the New England offense was as good as advertised.
Injury decimated secondary:
Trying to defend against Brady and the Patriots is a tough task itself. That job became even more difficult with several injuries to the secondary. With Johnathan Cyprien missing his second straight game due to a calf injury, the Jaguars were already thin in the secondary. Josh Evans got the start at strong safety in place of Cyprien but had to leave the game with a knee injury. Sergio Brown started at free safety but was forced out of the game with a calf injury. That left James Sample as the only remaining healthy safety. Peyton Thompson who's listed on the depth chart as the fifth cornerback was forced into action at free safety.
Never established running game:
New England came in giving up an average of 5.7 yards per carry. The Jaguars weren't able to take advantage of this. T.J. Yeldon never got into groove. The Patriots did a great job of loading up the box and taking away the run. Once the Jaguars got down by several scores they had to go away from the running game.