The consensus was convinced that this year's AFC Championship Game would feature a heated rematch between the Bill Belichick-led New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars crashed the party with an upset victory over the Steelers this weekend.
After taking care of business against the Tennessee Titans a day before, the Patriots have now started to make preparations for the Jaguars. It is not the first time these two teams have squared off this year, though.
New England and Jacksonville held joint practices together prior to the start of the season. However, head coach Bill Belichick does not feel those sessions will factor into his game plan on Sunday, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
“I don’t know,” Belichick said. “That was a long time ago. I think right now what it’s about is getting ready to play this game. That was a different point in time, different emphasis. I don’t know.”
It goes without saying that both teams are vastly different from what they were entering the year. As a result, Belichick does not feel the need to apply whatever it was he saw then into their gameplan for the matchup next Sunday.
The transformation of the Jaguars into an elite AFC title contender has truly been an incredible sight to behold. The Steelers may have realized that a bit too late after they were unable to erase their early 21-point deficit. That said, Belichick and the Patriots are certainly not going to take any team for granted as they look to defend their Super Bowl crown.
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