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Web posted January 13, 1997
By Pete Prisco and John Oehser
FOXBORO, Mass. - The skies were already dark over Foxboro Stadium at 4:56 yesterday. At 4:57, it got darker.
As Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri lined up for a 29-yard field goal attempt with 7:32 remaining in the second quarter, the lights above Foxboro Stadium suddenly went half-lit, delaying the game.
Play was delayed for 11 minutes, and resumed at 5:08 EST.
A blown fuse was the cause of the problem, Foxboro Stadium officials said.
The fuse blew in a Massachusetts Electric power transformer on Route 1, where Foxboro Stadium is located. The blown fuse interrupted power to parts of Foxboro Stadium.
Players left the field during the delay, but before lights returned, coaches and officials agreed to play in the half-darkened stadium. Play resumed, Vinatieri made the field goal for a 10-3 Patriots lead, and lights slowly came on again as the game continued.
Special teams not so special
FOXBORO, Mass. - Shaky and costly, the Jacksonville Jaguars special teams were hardly special at all yesterday.
And it may have cost them a chance at the Super Bowl.
As much as a 12-minute power outage delay, and as much as an injury to Jaguars running back Natrone Means in the second quarter, the Jaguars' special teams -- hardly a strength during a late-season run -- proved the early theme of the Jaguars' 20-6 loss to New England in the AFC Championship game at Foxboro Stadium yesterday afternoon.
The Jaguars' defense held the Patriots to 13 points in the first half. The Jaguars' special teams accounted for 10.
The troubles, in fact, began on the first series, when the Jaguars failed to pick up a first down, and were forced to punt.
Rich Griffith, a tight end and the Jaguars' long snapper, snapped the ball high and wide right, forcing Jaguars punt Bryan Barker to jump high to catch it. Facing a rush, Barker tried to run, but was tackled on the four-yard line by special teams specialist Larry Whigham.
Two plays later, Patriots running back Curtis Martin scored on a 1-yard run, and the Patriots led, 7-0.
The Jaguars' defense, as it did throughout the first half, stiffened, and the Jaguars inched back into the game on a 32-yard field goal by Mike Hollis, but midway through the second quarter, the Jaguars' special teams hurt the hopes again.
The Jaguars trailed 7-3 when Tom Tupa punted for the Patriots. Chris Hudson, a second-year free safety, fielded the 45-yard punt at the Jaguars 13, and when he was tackled by linebacker Marty Moore, the ball came loose and tight end Mike Bartrum recovered for the Patriots at the Jaguars 19.
The Jaguars' defense again held, but Adam Vinatieri 29-yard field goal with 7:23 remaining in the half made it 10-3, a lead the Patriots extended to 13-3, just before the halftime of a game in which the Jaguars special teams were hardly special at all.
Brunell says weather not a factor
FOXBORO, Mass. -- Flags flapped in the high, hard wind, and on the edges of the field at Foxboro Stadium, snow was pushed in piles.
These were conditions the Jacksonville Jaguars never had seen, but how much did the cold and the wind impact a 20-6 loss to the New England Patriots yesterday afternoon in the AFC Championship Game?
``I honestly don't think it was a factor,'' Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell said.
The winds swirled throughout -- at times up to 30 mph, and the 27-degree temperature at the gametime was the coldest in Jaguars. A game that featured two of the AFC's top quarterbacks this past season -- Brunell and Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe -- failed to produce a 200-yard passer.
Still, Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said, ``both teams played in the weather, so I think for the most part, it was not a factor.
``We just didn't play the way we should,'' wide receiver Jimmy Smith said of an offense that failed to score a touchdown after scoring 30 points in each of two playoff games. ``We had a good season. We had a chance to win a game and we didn't. It's just a part of growing in the NFL. We'll remember this. It's going to hurt.'
Brunell, after throwing for at least 200 yards in 17 of 18 previous games, passed for only 190 yesterday, completing 20 of 38 passes with two interceptions and no touchdowns.
Bledsoe, who like Brunell passed for more than 4,000 yards during the regular season, completed 20 of 33 passes for 178 yards and no touchdowns with one interception.
``Certainly, it was cold -- it was the coldest game we've been in, but it wasn't cold once the game got going,'' Brunell said. ``We were concerned about the wind early, but once again, it didn't keep us from doing some things offensively, so the conditions weren't as big a factor as we thought they might be.''
The main concern about the weather, most players said, was the wind. A hard wind can force teams away from passing, and winds, too, can force turnovers because it makes punts, kickoffs and passes harder to catch.
Each team yesterday, however, attempted more than 30 passes, and Coughlin pointed to the Jaguars' turnovers as evidence of a game unaffected by the wind and cold.
Jaguars punt returner Chris Hudson fumbled to set up a field goal, but had possession of the ball before fumbling. A high snap on a punt also set up a touchdown, and Mark Brunell's late interception was on a short, low pass that did not appear to be pushed by wind.
``We didn't mishandle,'' Coughlin said.
``I didn't see it as a problem at all,'' Jaguars safety Dana Hall said. ``It really was'nt that cold, and as far as handling the ball, I didn't see any problems. They didn't have any problems, and I don't think we did, so I don't think weather had much to do with this game.''
Defense outstanding despite loss
FOXBORO, Mass. - The snap sailed high and wide, and rather than punt away from danger, Jaguars punter Bryan Barker was tackled.
The play -- on the Jaguars' first possession -- gave the Patriots a first down on the Jaguars 4, set up their first touchdown, and not only that, players said, it set the tone for the Jacksonville Jaguars' 20-6 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game:
Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes.
And one of the best defensive efforts of the season wasted.
``I thought our defense was outstanding,'' Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said.
And the statistics say he's right.
The Jaguars allowed just one touchdown to the Patriots' offense -- a 4-yard drive after the aforementioned high snap by long-snapper Rich Griffith. The Patriots' other touchdown came on a 47-yard fumble return by Willie Clay.
The Patriots also scored six points on two field goals. One came three plays after Patriots tight end Mike Bartrum recovered a fumble by Jaguars punt returner Chris Hudson at the Jaguars 19. The other came on the final drive of the first half.
``The first half we gave them 10 points and in a good game like this, you just can't do that,'' Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell said.
``To not give them a touchdown on defense, you expect to win the ballgame,'' safety Dana Hall said. ``This game's a team sport. You've got to have all three facets. You've got to have offense, defense and special team.
``Unfortunately, today, special teams in essence gave up 10 points.''
The defense, indeed, played one of their best games of the season, and after the Broncos and Bills each scored 30 points in the Jaguars' earlier playoff victories, the defense's ability to stop Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe and running back Curtis Martin was a pre-game theme.
Bledsoe, a 4,000-yard passer in the regular season, completed 20 of 33 passes for 178 yards and no touchdowns with one interception. Martin, who has rushed for more than 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons and had 166 yards last week, rushed for 59 yards on 19 carries with a 1-yard touchdowns.
``Our defense played spectacular,'' Jaguars guard Ben Coleman said. ``They gave us the opportunity. We didn't make the plays to win.''
The defense made the plays often in the second half, forcing the Patriots to punt after three plays in the first possession of the second half, then recovering a fumble (Eddie Robinson) by Bledsoe on the next series. That set up the Jaguars' only score of the second half, a 28-yard field goal by Mike Hollis.
In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars forced two punts, a missed field goal and on the final possession, forced a turnover on downs, but the offense -- which accounted for 53 points in two preceding playoff games, failed to produce a touchdown.
``Our defense played great,'' Jaguars wide receiver Keenan McCardell said.
``We came out and accomplished most of our goals,'' Hardy said. ``We feel like we played a pretty solid game all day, and still came up on the downside. That's just the game.
``The offense -- they've been doing well all year. Without the plays those guys made, we wouldn't be where we are, so you can't be on the high side every day. Those guys came out and fought hard just like we did. We just came up on the down end today.''
The interception
FOXBORO, Mass. - The play was a multiple cross. Three receivers all crossing the field, the idea to get Keenan McCardell open on the final cross.
But the Patriots pulled a cross-up of their own.
Faced with a second-and-goal from the Patriots 5 with just under four minutes to go and trailing 13-6, the Jaguars had their eyes on the tying points. But quarterback Mark Brunell was intercepted by safety Willie Clay, ending the Jaguars' threat.
Th Patriots went on to win the AFC Championship Game 20-6, with that interception the key play. Clay, who was doubling Jimmy Smith on the weak side, stepped in front of tight end Derek Brown for the interception.
Brunell never saw him.
``I just kind of stole one,'' Clay said. ``He didn't see me coming from the back side.''
Brunell was trying to get the ball to Brown, the deepest of the crossing route runners. Underneath him, tight end Pete Mitchell was crossing, with McCardell coming behind him.
Brown said he thought he had a touchdown.
``I thought it was going to be me,'' Brown said. ``I made my move away from my guy, but the backside safety came off and made the play.''
``We call a play where it should be the widest guy coming open,'' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. ``He doesn't get open, so Mark winds up coming back to the middle and sees Derek.''
McCardell said he was open.
``It was there,'' McCardell said. ``I beat my man.''
Instead, Clay, nicknamed ``Big Play'' picked it off, helping seal the victory.
``I think it will stick now,'' Clay said of his nickname.
The fumble
FOXBORO, Mass., - James Stewart didn't mince words.
``I think that's one of those things that will stick with me forever,'' said Stewart.
That thing, Stewart's late-game fumble, led to a 47-yard return for a touchdown by Otis Smith that proved to be the deciding points in the New England Patriots' 20-6 victory in the AFC Championship Game.
The fumble, which came with just over 2:30 left in the game, ended the Jaguars' chances of getting to the Super Bowl.
``I came through the hole and there was a linemen standing there,'' said Stewart. ``I was trying to make a move on him, and as I was making a move, I extended my arm out. Another guy came from behind and hit it out. It just went right to the player, he picked it up, and ran it in.''
Stewart was playing because Natrone Means, who had rushed for 315 yards in the first two playoff games, had injured his right ankle in the second quarter. Means came back in the second half, but was obviously playing in pain.
``When I fell, my body kind of rolled and my foot didn't roll with it,'' said Means. ``I just came in and put tape on it and tried to go as much as I could. It hurt the whole second half, but it was very tough.''
Means said he did not take an injection for the pain, but instead taped it as tight as it could be.
``I just had to try and tough through it,'' he said.
He did finish with 43 yards on 19 carries, but it was clear he was the Patriots' top defensive priority. Stewart finished with 40 yards on seven carries.
The Patriots slowed Means by using a different defensive approach. Knowing Means was a cutback runner, the Patriots kept their linebackers at home. That in turn led to few cutback runs by Means.
``They had a good gameplan to stop the run,'' said tackle Leon Searcy. ``They watched their share of film and saw that the majority of Natrone's uns were cutbacks. Instead of flowing, they were slow-reading and staying home. You have to give them a lot of credit.''
``They flow to the ball very well,'' said Means.
For Stewart, it was a chance for redemption. After hurting his toe in the 10th game, Stewart never got his job back thanks in large part to the late-season success of Means.
Stewart did have a couple of good runs, but the fumble will be all that he's remembered for now.
``You're trying to make something happen, and it just turns around on you,'' said Stewart. ``It's something hard for me and something hard for this team.''
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