Patriots vs. Jaguars: New Englands gets a scare in Florida

While the Patriots did pull out the win and still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the uninspiring victory has Greg Knopping at SB Nation’s Patriots blog Pats Pulpit a little worried about the team heading into the postseason:

After a string of mostly dominant performances, New England has played lackluster football the past couple of weeks. Usually teams like to be playing their best ball heading into the postseason, and right now, the Patriots are not playing close to their best.

Despite playing one of the elite teams in the league extremely tough, the Jaguars may have came out even bigger losers, as noted by Adam Stites of SB Nation’s Jacksonville Jaguars blog, Big Cat Country. With no playoff implications at stake for the Jaguars, the team lost a few of their key players for the future.

At least one fan who does not think that the Jags are in for a Christmas miracle against the Patriots. Tim Tebow can’t get here soon enough.

The Jaguars opened up a 10-point lead early in the second quarter, but the Patriots erased it to fight back to earn a 23-16 win.

To celebrate Brady’s streak, Woodhead did ... this:

In a game pretty much nobody gave the Jaguars a chance to win, they have stormed out to a lead in front of the biggest crowd the team has had at home all season.

With rumors flying about the fate of the Jaguars front office, the team has come out an shown some life in Week 16. There is still plenty of football left to play, though. Either way, this is all too little ,too late for the 2-12 Jaguars.

The Patriots and Jaguars are set to kick off at 1 p.m. EST in EverBank Field.

Fantasy Take: No lucky surprise for Gronkowski owners, but a great day for Hernandez owners. Start Hernandez, as you would have anyway, but maybe expect a few extra points.

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The New England Patriots are cruising toward yet another appearance in the postseason, and should have little trouble with the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Patriots are currently pegged as 14.5-point favorites, according to OddsShark.com.

The Patriots (10-4) dropped a tough battle with the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, but should have no trouble at all with a Jaguars squad that is one of the worst in the NFL. It’s unlikely that Bill Belichick’s squad will overlook the Jags as they look to avenge their primetime loss last Sunday. The over/under, currently set at 49, could be in jeopardy should Tom Brady and company decide to pour it on against a lesser opponent.