AFC NOTES JACKSONVILLE – The game turned on a simple hand signal and an intriguing showdown between two of the game’s best players.
It turned what had been a mild comeback by the Patriots to set up yesterday’s AFC wild-card game into a tight finish into a breeze for the Jaguars, who went on to win 25-10 yesterday at Alltel Stadium.
Three-quarters of the fourth quarter remained and Jacksonville, at the New England 37, was clinging to a 12-10 lead and Jaguars’ QB Mark Brunell saw something he liked – a press coverage – as he approached the line of scrimmage.
He looked to his left and caught eyes with his top WR, Jimmy Smith, who was supposed to run an inside route, and made the signal, something like a secret handshake but without the physical contact.
The signal was to run a go pattern straight down the left sideline.
Smith, matched up all day with Patriots’ Pro Bowl CB Ty Law, who led the NFL with nine INTs, burst past Law as he neared the end zone and Brunell, a lefty, placed the pass perfectly into Smith’s outstretched arms for a 19-10 lead the Patriots would never threaten.
“It was a really good play for us,” Brunell said afterward. “It changed the momentum of the game for us. It was a simple hand signal, just a check at the line of scrimmage. Any time we get a press coverage with Jimmy Smith we feel like it’s to our advantage. So I gave him the go signal and he made a nice catch.”
Law seemed stunned when Smith made the diving catch.
“I always play ‘low shoulder’ coverage, figuring if the ball is there it has to be a perfectly thrown ball,” Law said. “I read the pass route, but I was not in the vicinity to make a play on the ball. I was on the inside and he was playing it stride for stride. I have no excuses. I got beat on the play.”
Smith, who caught five passes for 56 yards, said, “In my eyes, [Law] is the best I’ve faced all year. He was around me on every play.”
Smith said he’s looking forward to facing Jet CB Aaron Glenn, whom he met at last year’s Pro Bowl.
It’ll be a critical matchup considering Glenn’s been out of action for nearly five weeks with a sprained right ankle. *Jag K Mike Hollis, with his four FGs yesterday, extended his streak of successful postseason FGs to 12.
