The Patriots dodged defeat with a late interception.
It felt like the San Francisco game never ended. New England Patriots came out slow, disinterested and couldn't move the ball. Defensively, there wasn't a stop to be made.
Tom Brady stood on the sidelines shaking his hand after one of the many vicious hits he took from the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter, likely thinking about the several passes that came out of his hand awkwardly that led to an early 3 of 9 passing line that included two interceptions.
The trap was set and it took the Patriots (11-4) until the final play to get their foot out of it when Patrick Chung redeemed himself for a foolish helmet-to-helmet hit by intercepting the final pass of the game in the end zone to preserve the 23-16 victory over the now 2-13 Jaguars.
As the team often says, it's hard to win games in the NFL. So on one hand, mission accomplished. But there's no doubt the Patriots won't feel good about how this one was made.
Style points were supposed to be abundant as the Patriots unleashed their frustrations from last week's loss to the 49ers on a lowly opponent. Instead, the Pats nearly ended up embarrassed, if they didn't already leave EverBank Field a little red faced.
But in the end the job was completed and New England still has a chance to win a first-round playoff bye after the Minnesota Vikings toppled Houston 23-6.
And that, more than style points or criticisms from afar, is what really counts.
There will be talk about New England peaking too soon or not having a killer instinct. The cries about the defense not being good enough to get to the Super Bowl from earlier in the year will resurface.
Maybe those things are true. Maybe the Patriots found a way to hide their flaws during a seven-game winning streak and can no longer outrun them. Or maybe it was simply a bad day that can be used as a motivational tool by the coaching staff heading into the playoffs – and if that's the case, it's the best kind since it didn't result in negative marks.
It won't silence critics, but it's hard to make such leaps, at least when speaking of the defense, when the team was stripped down by injuries. Starting middle linebacker Brandon Spikes (ankle) and right cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (knee) were out with injuries, and left cornerback Aqib Talib (hip) was playing through one.
Thus, Devin McCourty was moved from safety to cornerback, and defensive end Rob Ninkovich had to slide into his old spot at linebacker. That's not how the defense was designed. Yet the group got the stops that were needed with their backs pinned against the wall. You could ask for more, but on Sunday it was good enough.
Next week, tight end Rob Gronkowski (forearm) should return from injury, and the defense should benefit from a bit of good health.
If things still look bad then, panic. For now, just be thankful the team got away with a poor performance and still might earn a week off.