by Anthony Cardone
Championship Week was a week to remember in NFL history, as the both games had something special.
The first game was between the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars and the AFC East-champion New England Patriots. The Jaguars had just upset the Steelers in the divisional game 45-42 and the Patriots had just beat the Titans 35-14.
The Jaguars got off to a fast start scoring on the Patriots twice in the first half and were up 14-3 with touchdowns from Marcedes Lewis and Leonard Fournette. But after last year’s Super Bowl, who can ever count out a team, let alone the Patriots? With Rob Gronkowski getting a concussion from a helmet to helmet collision in the second quarter, nothing was going right for the Patriots, until one play turned it around.
With the Jaguars in possession with 2:23 left in the first half, Jacksonville committed a delay of game, which turned the ball over to New England. This let Tom Brady move down the field in one minute, including a pass interference call that worth 32 yards. With 55 seconds left in the half, James White rushed in for a one-yard touchdown to make it 14-10 at the half.
Surprisingly the Jaguars would kneel out the one minute they had left on the clock, knowing they’d get the ball first. The third and fourth quarters started with a field goal from Josh Lambo and to make it 20-10 with 13 minutes left in the game. After a Dion Lewis fumble, it would seem the Patriots didn’t have it in them, but they had the quarterback that had the most fourth-quarter comebacks in history. Brady threw a nine-yard touchdown to Danny Amendola and, with 2:48 left in the game, would throw a ball in the back of the end zone to Amendola again for an unbelievable catch to take the lead 24-20. The Patriots had done it again. Another comeback win. Brady made another statement making his claim as the greatest to ever play the game.
On the other side of the league in the NFC, the Vikings and Eagles faced off. After last week’s game, possibly the greatest and most shocking ending to a game against the Saints, the Vikings were favorites again to walk in to Philadelphia and leave with a victory. The Eagles had to start backup quarterback Nick Foles, but that didn’t stop them and their home crowd. After taking a 7-0 lead, Case Keenum threw a pick-six, and the Eagles didn’t look back for the rest of the game, scoring 38 unanswered points in a blow-out win. Alshon Jeffery scored twice and Foles had the game of his life. Passing for 352 yards (an Eagles postseason record) and three touchdowns against the top defense in the league. That was a season high in yards and points allowed for the Vikings, and it was a bad time to do it. In 52 years not one team that has hosted the Super Bowl has won it. The Vikings came up short by one game.
In two weeks, New England will be making its eighth Super Bowl appearance since 2001, and they are looking for their six championship. The Eagles are making their third Super Bowl appearance and their first since 2005 when they lost to the Patriots 24-21. The Eagles have never won a title. It’s a backup quarterback vs. the greatest of all time. Who you got?