The New England Patriots Advance In The Playoffs

This game was in a dead heat going into halftime. Then, I realized the New England Patriots would do what they always do. That is, keep the game relatively close to make the game exciting and keep viewers glued to their screens, but then blow it open in the end.

I want to know what happened to this amazing Jacksonville Jaguars defense I heard about? All of a sudden they decided to not show up? They could not stop the Patriots on any drive. The punter only came out once for the Patriots....and that was in the last minute of the game!

The Jaguars struck first. They answered after the Patriots responded with two touchdowns. However, the give-and-take with Tom Brady & Company finally took a toll on Jacksonville.

David Garrard did all he could to keep his team in the game, but his receivers dropped some key catches that might have possibly made a difference. As for the Jaguars' amazing running game, I'd rather not even mention how terrible it was.

David Garrard kept the Jaguars close, completing 14 of 18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns through three quarters, including an 8-yard touchdown pass as his knee brushed the tips of the turf while in the grasp of linebacker Mike Vrabel. Garrard also hit Ernest Wilford for a 6-yard TD to make it 14-14 with 7:46 left in the half.

The Jaguars scored on a spectacular opening possession that gave them hope of ending New England's chances to top the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who won all 17 of their games. However, the Jaguars first touchdown was one of controversy.

Garrard found a wide-open Marcedes Lewis for 34 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots 43. Then, on third-and-goal from the 8, Vrabel wrapped up Garrard and was bringing him down when he flung the ball into the end zone and into the arms of Matt Jones.

Replays showed that Garrard's knee might have been down when he released the ball. But Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't quite as quick with his release of the red replay flag: He was running toward the field with his arm cocked, ready to throw it, when the ball was snapped for the extra point.

But Brady broke it open in the third with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker and a 9-yarder to Benjamin Watson -- his second scoring catch of the game.

Tom Brady completed his first 16 passes and was 23-of-24 for 194 yards and three touchdowns in the first three quarters Saturday night to help the New England Patriots open a 28-17 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in their AFC playoff game.

Laurence Maroney ran 15 times for 111 yards and a 1-yard touchdown as the Patriots tried to extend their perfect season with a 17th consecutive victory.

The New England Patriots will play the winner of Sunday's game between San Diego and Indianapolis for the AFC championship and a berth in the Super Bowl. If the Patriots make it to the Feb. 3 NFL title game, they'll have a chance to complete the league's first 19-0 season.

The New England Patriots Have Rewritten The History Books

The New England Patriots have completed a perfect season (16-0) in large part thanks to questionable and poor play calling on the side of the New York Giants.

But whatever the reasons are and whatever excuses I can make, the fact of the matter is the Patriots have gone undefeated and the records poured in.

Tom Brady tied a season record for touchdown passes and Randy Moss for touchdown catches when the two combined on a 4-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter against the New York Giants on Saturday night.

It also gave New England a record for most points by a team in a season -- 561.

The play gave Brady 49 TD passes for the season, tying Peyton Manning's 2004 record. Moss now has 22 touchdown catches, tying Jerry Rice, who did it in 12 games during a strike-marred 1987 season.

The play gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead over the Giants and 561 points for the season. The old mark was 556 by the 1998 Vikings.

On the TD pass, Brady turned to his right and threw the ball high to the right corner of the end zone to Moss, who jumped over the Giants' Aaron Ross to bring it in.

But....there was more to come....

Randy Moss received a 65 Yd Pass From Tom Brady followed by a Laurence Maroney run for A two-point conversion. With this TD pass, Brady passed Manning's record for most touchdown passes in a single season and stands alone with 50 touchdowns. In addition, Moss gained his 23rd touchdown pass, making him stand alone in the record books for most touchdown receptions.

More from ESPN:

With one mighty heave, Tom Brady and Randy Moss took care of the record books. Now it's down to business for the unbeaten New England Patriots: stamping themselves as the greatest team in NFL history.

The Patriots completed a perfect if somewhat joyless journey through the regular season Saturday night, finishing with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants.

New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a comeback from a 12-point deficit engineered by the brilliant Brady, and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.

Validation of their inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship, their fourth of the decade. Do that and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top.

The statement above raises an interesting debate. If the Patriots should lose in the playoffs, will their perfect season be in vain? Will they be remembered as the greatest team in history or as the team who went undefeated in the regular season, but then lost in the playoffs? Anyway, I'll discuss this in a later article IF they should happen to lose.