Game Preview: Patriots Host Jaguars in Week 3

The New England Patriots improved to a 2-0 following a 40-32 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday. Tom Brady followed a four-touchdown performance in the season opener vs. Pittsburgh with 466 yards passing and a three-touchdown game in the win against the Bills.

Brady enters this week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in fourth-place in NFL history with 399 career touchdowns and needs one more to join Peyton Manning (533), Brett Favre (508) and Dan Marino (420) as the only NFL players with 400 career touchdowns.

The Patriots will look to start the season with a 3-0 record for the ninth time in team history and for the fifth time under head coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots started 3-0 in 1964, 1974, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2013.

The Jaguars are one of just four teams the Patriots own an undefeated regular-season home record (3-0) against. The Patriots are 4-0 against Baltimore, 4-0 against Chicago and 2-0 against Houston.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZTV Channel 4 in Boston.Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play duties with Rich Gannon as the color analyst. The game will be produced by Ken Mack and directed by Mark Grant.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience on Sports USA. Larry Kahn and Hank Bauer will call the game. Troy West will work the sidelines.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network (view affiliates). Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. Produced by Marc Cappello.

SERIES HISTORY

The Patriots and Jaguars will meet for the 11th time overall and for the first time since New England claimed a 23-16 win at Jacksonville on Dec. 23, 2012. The Jaguars will visit Gillette Stadium for the first time since the 2009 season when the Patriots took a 35-7 victory on Dec. 27, 2009.

The Patriots have won all six of the regular-season games between the clubs dating back to 1996. The two teams have faced each other four times in the playoffs, including the 1996 AFC Championship Game at Foxboro Stadium, a 20-6 New England win. The Patriots lead the Jaguars 3-1 in postseason games.

The Jaguars will visit Foxborough for the seventh time overall, with the Patriots having won all six previous games against the team in New England. Three of the wins were in the regular-season and three were postseason wins.

The first playoff game between the two teams was the 1996 AFC Championship Game at Foxboro Stadium. In that contest, the Patriots beat the Jaguars, 20-6, to advance to Super Bowl XXXI. The Jaguars claimed a 25-10 win in the 1998 wild card playoffs, the Jaguars only victory against New England. The Patriots won 28-3 in a 2005 Divisional Playoff game and 31-20 in a 2007 Divisional Playoff game.

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Overall Record (including 3-1 in playoffs), 9-1
Record in New England, 6-0 (3-0 in playoffs) 
Foxboro Stadium, 2-0 (1-0 in playoffs)
Gillette Stadium, 4-0 (2-0 in playoffs)
Record in Jacksonville, 3-1 (0-1 in playoffs)

Total Points, Patriots 252, Jaguars 156
Patriots' Largest Margin of Victory, 28 points (12/27/09)
Patriots' Largest Margin of Defeat, 15 points (01/03/99)
Highest Combined Point Total, 53 points (09/22/96)
Lowest Combined Point Total, 26 (01/12/97)
Games Decided by Seven or Fewer Points, 4
Current Win Streak, Patriots,six games
Bill Belichick vs. Jacksonville, 6-2 (6-0 with New England)

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

The Patriots have an all-time record of 87-47-1 (.648) against the teams that make up the AFC South. It is the only division in the NFL where the Patriots own a winning record against each team. New England owns winning marks against Tennessee (23-16-1), Indianapolis (50-29), Jacksonville (9-1) and Houston (5-1).

CONSISTENT SUCCESS

The Jaguars are one of just four teams the Patriots own an undefeated regular season home record (3-0). The Patriots are 4-0 against Baltimore, 4-0 against Chicago and 2-0 against Houston.

Additionally, Jacksonville is one of eight NFL teams that Tom Brady has an undefeated regular season record against.

Atlanta Falcons, 4-0
Chicago Bears, 4-0
Dallas Cowboys, 3-0
Detroit Lions, 4-0
Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-0
Minnesota Vikings, 4-0
Philadelphia Eagles, 3-0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-0

PASSING PERFORMANCES

Tom Brady will face off against the Jaguars for the fifth time in his career in the regular season. Brady has also played Jacksonville two times in the postseason. All four of the previous meetings have been played in December.Read

FRANCHISE RECORD VS. JAGS

Tom Brady set a franchise record in the 2009 game when he finished with a completion percentage of 88.5, when he completed 23-of-26 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns. His 88.5 completion percentage in that game is tied for the 12th best completion percentage in NFL history (min. 20 attempts). Brady set a postseason record and the record for best completion percentage in an NFL game when he completed 26-of-2

CONNECTIONS

NEW ENGLAND TIES

• Jaguars CB Dwayne Gratz attended Connecticut from 2008-12, where he played in 50 games, registering 126 tackles (87 solo) 10 interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
• Jaguars special teams coordinator Mike Mallory served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Rhode Island from 1993-95.

JACKSONVILLE TIES

• Patriots G Tre' Jackson (2011-14) and OL Bryan Stork (2011-13) attended Florida State, two-and-a-half hours west of Jacksonville.
• Patriots LB Dekoda Watson also attended Florida State from 2006- 09, where he earned his first start as a freshman, and became a fixture at strong side linebackers, starting 31 of the 35 games he played through his last three seasons.
• Patriots DL Dominique Easley attended Florida, an hour and 20 minutes southwest of Jacksonville, where he started 26-of-32 games over his four year career and finished with 81 tackles, 5 1/2  sacks, 18 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed.
• Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount grew up in Perry, Fla., two hours west of Jacksonville. Blount recorded three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Taylor County High School (Perry, Fla.), where he was a four-year starter and was named second team all-state as a senior.

FORMER PATRIOTS

• Jaguars FS Sergio Brown was originally signed by New England as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Brown spent two seasons with the Patriots (2010-11), and played in 26 games with three starts.
• Jaguars defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker held the same position with the Patriots for three seasons (1998-2000), the first two under Pete Carroll and his final season under Bill Belichick. During Walker's tenure with the Patriots, defensive backs Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy each earned trips to the Pro Bowl.

FORMER JAGUARS

• Patriots LB Dekoda Watson appeared in nine games with one start for the Jaguars and posted eight tackles on defense and seven special teams tackles in 2014 before being released on Nov. 11.

FORMER NFL TEAMMATES

• Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels tutored Jaguars G Zane Beadles when McDaniels was head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2010.
• Patriots RB Dion Lewis and Jaguars TE Clay Harbor were offensive teammates for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012.
• Patriots LB Darius Fleming and Jaguars LB Dan Skuta were defensive teammates with San Francisco in 2013.
• Patriots DL Alan Branch and Jaguars DE Chris Clemons were defensive teammates at Seattle for two seasons (2011-2012). Branch also worked with Jaguars defensive line coach/run game coordinator Todd Walsh when Walsh served as the defensive line coach for Seattle in 2011- 12.
• Jaguars assistant head coach – offense/offensive line coach Doug Marronetutored Patriots TE Scott Chandler in 2013-14, when Marrone served as head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
• Jaguars DT Roy Miller (2009-12) played with the Patriots LB Dekoda Watson (2010-13) when they were defensive teammates at Tampa Bay. Miller also played with Patriots pro scout Steve Cargile, when Cargile played as a safety for the Bucs in 2009.

FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES

• Patriots LB Darius Fleming and Jaguars FS Sergio Brown were defensive teammates at Notre Dame for two seasons (2008-09).
• Patriots DL Geneo Grissom and Jaguars CB Aaron Colvin were defensive teammates at Oklahoma for three seasons (2011-13).
• Jaguars WR Rashad Greene and Patriots G Tre' Jackson were offensive teammates at Florida State for all four seasons (2011-14). Green also played with Patriots C Bryan Stork. Together, they helped the Seminoles capture a BCS National Championship in 2013.
• Patriot WR Matthew Slater and Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis were offensive teammates at UCLA in 2005.

BRADY APPROACHING 400 TDS

Tom Brady needs one more touchdown pass to become the fourth player in NFL history with 400 touchdown passes.

1. Peyton Manning, 533
2. Brett Favre, 508
3. Dan Marino, 420
4. Tom Brady, 399
5. Drew Brees, 398
6. Fran Tarkenton, 342
7. John Elway, 300
8. Warren Moon, 291
9. Johnny Unitas, 290
10. Vinny Testaverde, 275