Spokesman-Review
National Football League
New England 23, Jacksonville 16
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 23, 2012
Where: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Temperature: 58°
Head Official: Jeff Triplette
Attendance: 70251

Patriots 23, Jaguars 16: Wes Welker caught 10 passes for 88 yards and a score and Patrick Chung had two interceptions in the fourth quarter to lead New England to a surprisingly difficult win at Jacksonville.

A week after dropping a wild 41-34 decision to San Francisco, the two-touchdown favorite Patriots had trouble getting its No. 1-ranked offense untracked against the Jaguars. But New England got a crucial goal-line stand with under four minutes left, keyed by Chandler Jones' hit on quarterback Chad Henne which led to Chung's first interception. Chung then picked off Henne in the end zone of the game's final play.

Welker had his 18th game of 10 or more receptions to pass Jerry Rice for the NFL record. He added a 2-yard score early in the fourth quarter as New England rebounded from a rare December loss.

The Patriots, who are 6-0 all-time against the Jaguars, rallied from an early 10-point deficit to score 20 straight points. Jacksonville (2-13) jumped out to a 10-0 lead as Henne threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to rookie Justin Blackmon and Josh Scobee added a 41-yard field goal.

But New England (11-4) tied the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Danny Woodhead with 23 seconds left before the half and took its first lead on a 38-yard field by Stephen Gostkowski, his third of the game, on its first possession of the second half.

The Patriots made it 23-13 when Brady connected on a short scoring strike to Welker, who had a diving 25-yard reception earlier on the drive before scoring his fifth touchdown of the season.

Game notebook: Brady (24-for-41, 267 yards) extended his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass in a game to 47 games, tying Johnny Unitas for the second-longest in history. ... Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was inactive. He is still recovering from a broken forearm but has practiced for the past two weeks. ... Henne finished 29-for-51 for 348 yards.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
New England   Jacksonville
Stevan Ridley Player Montell Owens
18 Attempts 10
84 Yards 42
4.7 Avg Yards 4.2
0 Touchdowns 0
16 Long 14
Receiving
New England   Jacksonville
Wes Welker Player Jordan Shipley
10 Receptions 5
88 Yards 82
8.8 Avg Yards 16.4
1 Touchdowns 0
25 Long 36
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New England 349 103 246 2 3 3 1.0 0
Jacksonville 436 93 343 1 3 2 3.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Jacksonville will play their next game on the road against Tennessee. The Jaguars have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • New England will play their next game at home against Miami. The Patriots have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.