Mahomes sets NFL record 10 TDs in first 2 games
Kansas City’s second-year quarterback torches Pittsburgh on the road. Scores and summaries
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This time, there was no letting up from the Jaguars.
They kept pounding, pressing and pulverizing the Patriots.
With Blake Bortles resembling, well, Tom Brady, the Jaguars finished off a 31-20 victory against New England before a festive crowd at the sauna that was TIAA Bank Field on Sunday.
Bortles passed for 377 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Jaguars flirted with another second-half plummet against the defending AFC champions, then regrouped to put them away.
The backbreaking moment came midway through the fourth quarter when Dede West- brook grabbed a Bortles pass over the middle and turned upfield to bolt 61 yards.
Westbook’s play, on a crossing route, was fitting in that it represented a distinct pattern for how the Jaguars stung Bill Belichick’s defense: They killed it with crosses.
No, the big win doesn’t make up for the collapse in the AFC Championship Game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in January, when the Jaguars blew a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead.
But it provided an undeniable feel-good moment for Duval County and marked a measure of growth.
Unlike in the AFC title game, Jacksonville (2-0) stayed aggressive on offense while the defense didn’t wilt under the pressure of a potential Brady-led comeback — or the heat index of 107 degrees, which marked the hottest
game ever for both teams.
It was hot all right. In more ways than one.
Three other things we learned: Brady’s cape is missing: There was no Superman moment from TB12. In fact, Brady was downright human as he tried to rally the Patriots (1-1) against one of the NFL’s best defenses. Sure, there were chances with Jacksonville’s turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the second half. But blowing a golden opportunity in Jaguars territory that was set up by a Bortles interception (aided and abetted by the hands of tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins) summed up the day: Brady was stripped-sacked by Dante Fowler. He finished with 234 passing yards and two touchdowns. … Maybe Gronk has the cape. That’s a clue as all-pro tight end Rob Gronkowski was missing, too (2 catches, 15 yards), which was the last thing the Patriots needed while being so light on weapons to support Brady.
You can only hope to contain him: Keelan Cole stung the Patriots for 116 yards on seven receptions, punctuated by an amazing one-handed grab along the sideline that was so reminiscent of Odell Beckham Jr.’s signature swag. Keelan who? The second-year receiver, getting more reps with the season-ending injury to Marqise Lee, seems quite capable of making his name as an emerging playmaker. Dating to last season, he’s produced 100 yards in three of his last five regular-season games. After burning Eric Rowe for the acrobatic catch for 22 yards in the first quarter, he finished the drive by beating Rowe for a
24-yard TD on a go route that made it
14-zip.
No Fournette, no problem. The Jaguars were without centerpiece running back Leonard Fournette, who suffered a hamstring injury during the seasonopening win at the Giants. It hardly doomed them. The Jaguars still outrushed the Patriots, 104 yards to 82 yards. Sub-starter T.J. Yeldon gained 58 yards on 10 carries, while Corey Grant added 13 rushing yards and 56 yards on six receptions out of the backfield. And Bortles boosted the rushing attack, too, with 35 yards on six scrambles, including a clutch, 10-yard run that moved the chains on third down as the game tightened late in the fourth quarter.