Jaguars put up fight, then self-destruct

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Almost. Would’ve. Could’ve.

The Jacksonville Jaguars swung hard and sure had Tom Brady and Co. on the ropes, nearly pulling off a shocker for the ages in the AFC Championship Game.

But you know how the story so often ends when the New England Patriots have their backs against the wall while smelling the possibility of another crown.

Ask the Atlanta Falcons. Or the Seattle Seahawks. Or even Chucky’s Oakland Raiders.

Now the Jaguars join this collection of would-be spoilers, succumbing to yet another Brady comeback — this time, from 10 down in the fourth quarter — as Bill Belichick’s team rides off to another Super Bowl with a 24-20 result that adds another chapter to the remarkable legacy.

I mean, as the Patriots head to their eighth Super Bowl of the Brady-Belichick Era, what would it be without another dramatic comeback?

“For them, it might be, ‘We had it and we blew it,’ ” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “For us, ‘This is not how we wanted to do it, but we got it done.’ ”

Too bad, Jags. You made ’ em sweat and, for a while, silenced Gillette Stadium. Then the Patriot Way re-emerged in the nick of time. Brady wound up throwing for 290 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.

“That’s the difference with the Patriots,” Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee said amid a somber, near-empty visitors locker room. “There’s no giving up from them. They showed that last year (with the record Super Bowl comeback). They showed poise. They’re so disciplined.”

The Jaguars — with Tom Coughlin, who as coach of the New York Giants beat Belichick twice in Super Bowls, now running the football part of the business — came oh-so-close to executing an impressive blueprint for how to beat New England: Roll with swagger. Stop ’ em on third downs. Spring some creative plays. Badger Brady.

All that helped the Jaguars build a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Then reality set in. Rather than writing the book on how to beat the champs, the Jaguars wound up the embodiment of a how-to guide for blowing the chance to shock the world.

As Lee put it, “Not cool to fall short. A lot of people didn’t even give us a chance, but we didn’t go out there and lay down. We played our butts off. But you’ve got to find a way. Next year, the big thing for us will be finishing teams off.”

Here’s what not to do, if you expect to topple Belichick’s team when it matters the most:

❚ Just before halftime, play into their hands: No NFL team is more proficient at scoring before the intermission than the Patriots, who have now scored 12 times this season in the final minute of the first half. This time they used a six-play, 85-yard drive capped by James White’s 1-yard TD run to cut into an 11--

point lead. New England started the drive with 2:02 on the clock but would not have had that much time if not for back-to-back penalties on the previous drive — a delay-of-game infraction that wiped out a would-be completion for a first down and a holding call.

No, the Patriots are not the ones you want to help with self-inflicted blunders.

❚ Give them some chunk yards from pass interference penalties: The Jags were stung by a 30-yard pass-interference call against A.J. Bouye to help on the drive just before the half. Yes, conspiracy theorists, it was questionable and looked mighty uncatchable. But there was no disputing the fourth-quarter flag on Jalen Ramsey, costing 36 yards, which helped to significantly flip field position.

❚ Lose aggressiveness: After New England’s TD late in the second quarter, the Jaguars had 55 seconds to respond. Instead, they took a knee on back-toback snaps to take a 14-10 lead into the locker room. Sure, the Jags would get the ball back on the second-half kickoff, which they parlayed into a 54-yard field goal from Josh Lambo. Yet in a playoff game with points at a premium — and Brady on the other sideline — the Jaguars squandered a possession that might have added points. They had two timeouts but took two knees. Not the best vibe when you’re trying to go to the Super Bowl.

❚ Score zero TDs in the second half: Field goals won’t cut it against Brady when he’s desperate. Jacksonville got two second-half field goals and even worse was what happened on three quick drives in the fourth quarter in which they combined for one first down, generated 30 yards and did a horrible job of milking the clock. The drive times:

1:34, 2:23, 0:55. During this sequence, McCourty was reminding fellow defenders that they needed to play “perfect” and not allow long drives.

❚ Give them a short field: New England’s game-winning drive began at the Jacksonville 30-yard line, where Danny Amendola — who scored two fourthquarter touchdowns — returned a punt

15 yards. This is how poor field position and the inability to move the chains in the clutch will come back to haunt you.

It was fitting that Amendola (seven catches, 84 yards, one pass for 20 yards,

25 punt-return yards) finished the drive that he started with a beautiful top-tap in the back of the end zone for the 4-yard TD.

❚ Keep Brady in striking range: The Jaguars pestered and badgered and hit Brady frequently, evidenced by New England’s 3-for-12 performance on third downs. But in the end, TB12— sore hand and all — led New England’s crusade for deft situational football.

After overcoming a 25-point deficit in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, a 10-point deficit hardly seemed insurmountable. In fact, it seemed only to be a matter of time.

The biggest throw? A third-and-18, on a throw over the middle to Amendola, early in the fourth quarter, kept alive an efficient, 85-yard drive. Uh-oh.

That’s not to beat the Patriots. But it’s a theme that has been there before.