Hey everybody, we’re live from Tallahassee, watching the Pats and Chargers in the AFC Championship game.

SCOTT JACOBS

At halftime it’s 14-9, sort of a surprising score considering how bad Philip Rivers has looked at times. Ladanian Tomlinson appears to be done for the day, which is not exactly a help. Tom Brady reverted to throwing some real hangers up there, allowing the Chargers, namely Quentin Jammer to knock it away or even pick it off.

Moss still doesn’t have a catch for New England. Amazing. And Wes Welker has looked very human so far.

4:53- Brady to Welker for a short game, but the throw is again low. Brady just doesn’t look comfortable right now.

4:54- Got to love Heath Evans as he converts another third down.

4:54- Jim Nance and Phil Simms are discussing if the Moss incident has been a distraction. It sure looks like it.

4:55- Brady is sacked, and he really really looks out of form. San Diego’s defense is playing about as well as you can against this Patriots juggernaut.

4:56- Brady is picked off for a second time. The Patriots are starting to live on the edge here. I had a feeling this game might be close, and I think the Chargers are gaining some serious confidence as this game goes on. But can they score a touchdown? Field goals will not win them this game. They need 6 and to get it here would be huge!

4:57- Patriots continue to get pressure on Rivers not letting him get comfortbale. Rivers is going to be forced to make a play sooner or later, but will San Diego’s offensive line give him the time.

4:58- Chris Chambers, where was this in Miami? Another solid catch and the toe work. Beautiful stuff.

4:59- Vincent Jackson with another catch. Playing a very good game, and looking like a number one receiver. Jackson and Chambers both over 70 yards on the day.

5:00- Huge series for San Diego and big play here on third and one. The Chargers are getting deeper and deeper into the game, and its very very obvious that they aren’t going away. But the difference between being an AFC Champion and keeping it close is a big gap that starts with scoring touchdowns instead of field goals.

5:03- Huge tackle by Junior Seau, the ageless wonder. This isn’t four down territory anymore. Another kick coming up for the Chargers, and the Patriots continue to show that they just know how to get it done in the red zone, both on offense or defense. Nate Kaeding’s show continues with another kick, and it’s now 14-12. The Chargers are getting pretty close, but they just don’t look like a threat until they get the ball in the endzone.

One would think the Pats will get going eventually.

5:04- Stupid Coors Light commercial. You suck Dennis Green. And your commercials are what I thought they were. Terrible, and I’m not letting you off the hook.

5:06- Wind chill is zero in Foxboro. I don’t need a meteorologist to tell me that’s kinda cold (In Tallahassee it’s low 40’s with a wind chill of 35, which more then cold enough for me)

5:09- Pats move the ball past midfield, with a gain of 18 yards, the longest play of the day for them. Want to know how San Diego is still in this game with no touchdowns? That’s a good place to start.

5:10- Am I the only one who notices the Chargers wearing jackets with their old logos on it? Ya know, the white bolts instead of the yellow ones? Speaking of logos, this game is almost a bowl game. Have you seen how many logos there are on the field? Two Patriots word marks in the end zone, two AFC title game logos, one Pats logo at midfield, a Huge NFL Playoffs 2007 banner, and a pair of NFL shields as well. O and I almost forgot the two Gillete stadium logos that have become fixtures in Foxboro.

5:13- Moss gets his first catch, and something tells me it won’t be his last. 81 is going to get his.

5:14- Maroney with a really nice run, and Patriots continue their march downfield. Showing a little bit of firepower here. Another power run by Lawrence. He’s a big part of New England’s offense, whether he gets the credit or not, because he makes that team two- dimensional.

5:15- That’s three carries in a row for Maroney. New England looks like they’re trying to tire out the lightning bolts.

5:17- Brady PICKED again. That’s number three. Can you say, be afraid be very afraid? New England looks very beatable right now, and Brady is playing his worst game of the season by far. The beat up Chargers, without LT, with a hobbling Rivers, have the chance to do the unthinkable, beat the Patriots. And this time, a field goal would take the lead. A lot of time left, but boy is San Diego looking better by the minute. We’ve got ourselves a game folks.

5:20- I’d like to see the Chargers take a chance here. If you want this trip to Arizona, you have to go after it. Instead another Rivers incompletion. San Diego will punt.

5:22- You have to wonder: How long can San Diego keep New England from making a big play. You know that dagger could be coming at any minute, but the Pats continue to keep it short and safe.

5:24- One quarter left in the books. Raise your hand if you had San Diego within a field goal at this point in the game? Yeah, me neither. And if you had told me that the Chargers would have no touchdowns, four field goals, and no LT I would have probably expected this game to be long past over. But instead with 15 minutes left the huge underdog San Diego fighting Norv Turners are on the brink of a stunning upset. Can their defense continue to pressure Brady and make the huge take-aways, or will they wear tired? We shall find out.

5:27- What a cut by Maroney. This guy is a talent. Big big run.

5:28- In a year where Brady and Moss have shined, it’s Maroney who is carrying this team right now. Who saw that one coming?

5:32- TOUCHDOWN Patriots. Nine point game, two score game, and I think the Chargers may be in trouble. Just over 12 minutes left in this one and San Diego has shown an inability to get in the endzone. Sproles is cut down at the 16 yard line, and the Chargers will start from there, where they are in must score territory this late in the game.

5:36- Rivers to Chambers for 16. The Chargers aren’t giving up just yet.

5:37- Rivers just avoids an intentional grounding call. Have to be so careful this late in the game not to make a crippling mistake that will crush your team. Huge 3rd and 10 here.

5:38- Jackson with a terrific catch. Growing up before our very eyes. Brady looks a little antsy right now. Chargers moving into Patriots side of the field as Rivers hits Gates for nine more.

5:39- Michael Turner has done an admirable job filling in for LT. O the benefits of having two quality backs.

5:40- Tipped and nearly picked, the Bolts really dodged a bullet on that one. Hey, it takes some luck sometimes and that was lucky not to be going th either way.

5:41- Rodney Harrison with another huge play, Rivers throws it incomplete and the Patriots hold. The Chargers will punt and with under 10 minutes left, they are running out of time. Huge chance for Brady and co. to run some clock and finish off this pesky team.

5:43- I love this Pepsi Commercial with the Cowboys, and did anyone ever notice it was against the Giants? Sort of funny because that’s what Romo was doing all last week. Yawning away the season. Wake up People!

5:44- Maroney is anchoring this Pats team right now and San Diego just has no answers for him. Gut feeling: big play action play is on the horizon. That’s what a good running game does. Instead though, Brady is sacked. If ever there was a game where the Pats have looked beatable this has been it. Too bad the Chargers don’t have LT. Its a real shame.

5:46- Faulk with an unbelievable diving catch, and the first down to go along with it. Kevin Faulk who’s been with the Patriots forever has always been an unsung hero, but he can really play too. Clock starting to become serious factor.

5:48- Writing is on the wall in this one. San Diego is forced to burn a timeout, one they badly needed. The Chargers gave it a good effort today, but the Patriots are just a better team. With a healthy Rivers, Tomlinson, and Gates maybe the score is different, but it comes down to field goals versus touchdowns, and the Patriots have 3 scores to San Diego’s 4 field goals. That’s the difference. That’s me idea-ating?

5:50- If you’re New England you stay in bounds, keep your legs moving and kill that clock. But Stallworth goes out of bounds. Not smart. not smart.

5:51- You stay Classy San Diego. This game is all but over, as who else, but Faulk, makes a finger-tip catch to cement what will go down as an ugly-beautiful win. Maroney gets my MVP vote for this game, as he carried the Pats when Brady was struggling.

5:53- So what would make a better matchup? New England versus Green Bay or New England versus New York? The Giants gave the Patriots a great game in week 17, but could they do it again? And who doesn’t want to see Brett Favre as the last challenger to take down New England’s undefeated team?

5:54- You can say what you want about New England’s division, their luck in playing the Chargers not the Colts, but one thing you can’t say, is this team doesn’t know how to get it done. Today was a prime example of how good New England is. It wasn’t their best game. Not even close. But they saw that the passing game wasn’t going to dominate, and they smartly went to the run. Maroney came up huge today, and give a lot of credit to San Diego for doing a good job of taking Moss and Welker mostly out of the game. But guys like Jabar Gaffney and Kevin Faulk come through when others are shut down and that’s what makes New England tick. 18-0, and just one win away from the greatest season we’ve ever seen.

5:58- The final first down, and now it’s all hugs and hand pounds from here. This will wrap up CBS’s coverage on the year as the Pats take a few kneel downs into the history books. They never wilted under mounting pressure, continued to take one game at a time and now that hard work has resulted in a trip to Glendale, AZ. They said this year was Super Bowl or bust. Now it’s two weeks to prepare for the final step: a fourth ring.

6:00- One last note as we wrap up our coverage here at JSB. New England will not beat the Giants or Packers with another game like this. Of course, that just gives them more ammo to say they can play better. And they will. You can bet on that. No matter what the spread is.

6:01- Goodnight everybody. In just a few hours the Super Bowl will be set, and we’ll have two weeks to discuss it.

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