JACKSONVILLE – Mark Brunell was rusty against the Patriots yesterday after missing three games with a high left ankle sprain, but expects to be closer to his old self Sunday against the Jets.
“I was a little off early on, and missed some throws,” Brunell said after the Jaguars beat the Patriots 25-10 in an AFC wild-card game. “My footwork just wasn’t where I want it to be. But as the game went on, I was able to get that back and make some of the throws that we needed to hit. It was a factor early on but I settled down and was able to put it on receivers.”
His best moment came at a time when the Patriots had stormed back to within 12-10 in the third quarter. Brunell found tight end Pete Mitchell on third-and-10 to keep the drive alive, then sent Jimmy Smith deep past Ty Law for a 37-yard TD.
“It changed the momentum for us,” Brunell said. “Everything seemed to be going the Patriots way at that point. It was a simple hand signal to Jimmy to give him the go route and he ran a nice route, and I was able to put the ball out there for him. We needed the boost. It just came at a perfect time.”
Brunell was asked why he gave Smith, who was supposed to run an 18-yard comeback, the hand signal.
“It was press coverage,” Brunell said.
Brunell twisted his ankle at the end of the first half and nearly came out of the game. But he convinced Tom Coughlin to stay the course.
“I twisted the ankle a little bit before halftime and came out in the third quarter, wasn’t feeling all that great, and we didn’t really get into an argument,” Brunell said. “I encouraged him, I should say, to keep me in there. It wasn’t a confrontation or anything like that. He felt that I could go and I felt the same way so I stayed in there.”
Brunell (14-34, 161 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) was asked if he took a step back with the ankle.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I knew I would twist it up a little bit, there’d be some contact, it would be a little sore, but I don’t anticipate any setbacks. It feels pretty good right now, so I don’t think there’ll be any problems for next week.”
The gameplan was changed to accommodate and protect Brunell.
“We didn’t have as many bootlegs, we didn’t have as many sprintouts; we changed the gameplan a little bit, and I didn’t scramble around very much. Next week will be good in that I’ll feel that much better with the ankle.”
Brunell understands the Jags will have to be sharper against the Jets.
“Each week we have to get better and better,” Brunell said. “Our running game has to be better, our passing game has to be better, regardless of what happened today. As the playoffs go on, you have to improve.”
Coughlin is optimistic that Brunell will be sharper against the Jets.
“He’ll be a lot sharper as he gains confidence, as he plays through this game,” Coughlin said. “He’s gonna be sore; hopefully we can get that under control for a solid practice day on Wednesday. That’s what he really needs.”
