FOXBORO -- I get the feeling Lamont, a.k.a. LPizzle, is being sarcastic. Almost positive. Maybe not. Either way, these blowouts are sometimes drip, drip, drip, dam-burst-type deals.
And the dam probably burst with 1:47 left in the first half when Blake Bortles threw a bullet to nowhere that was picked by Devin McCourty, free safety and weekly Quick Slants guest.
Before Bortles released the pass, it was 13-3 and the Jags had done an admirable job of hanging in. Young, undermanned and not-quite-ready-for-heavy-competition, Jacksonville held the Patriots to a pair of field goals after a ridiculously easy touchdown on the Patriots first drive.
And offensively, the Jags had actually worked a pretty good offensive game plan well enough to throw together a 17-play field goal drive of their own.
But once the ball left his hand, the Jags were meat. McCourty returned the pick to the Patriots 43. Dion Lewis got 22 on the next three plays, Brady converted a third-and-short with a sneak and on the next play hit a misplaced Rob Gronkowski for 27 yards down the seam. Two plays later, with 22 seconds left in the half, the Jaguars misplaced Danny Amendola and Brady threw his 400th touchdown pass.
Now, instead of the Jags potentially being tied as they sit in the locker room, they are in line to go down 27-3 if the Patriots receive the second-half kickoff and do what they often do.
The Patriots scored on each of their first four drives of the half and -- as we expected – were twice as inclined to throw to the perimeter against the Jags than run it. Brady finished the half 17-for-23 for 202 yards and a touchdown. Dion Lewis carried 8 times for 37 yards and caught each of the five passes thrown his way for another 30. Gronk already has 80 yards receiving.
New England Patriots
The Patriots did spruce of their run defense that’s been lagging the first two weeks, holding Jacksonville to 35 on 13 carries. Bortles is who he has been since getting to the league. A 50 percent passer (8 for 17) who flings it up a bit (one pick, two near ones) and takes some sacks (two).
We will see if the deluge is forthcoming.