Long and short of it: switch worked

Dump-off passes to Kevin Faulk, here avoiding Paul Spicer (right) and Daryl Smith, were a big part of the Patriots' strategy. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - In basketball terms, this was a fast-break team proving it could win a half-court battle.

Over the course of their explosive, record-setting 2007 performance, the Patriots' up-tempo offense roared past foes with decisive force. The knockout punch came without notice. They could strike that fast.

But last night against the Jaguars, quarterback Tom Brady and Co. were forced into a slowdown game for multiple reasons, including the Jaguars' ability to sustain drives against a vulnerable Patriots defense and Jacksonville playing a soft defense that left openings in the short to intermediate areas.

So the Patriots took what the Jaguars gave them, morphing from quick-strike to methodical. Brady lived by the shorter, high-percentage pass, which helps explain this remarkable stat line: 26 of 28 for 262 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The two incompletions were dropped passes by tight end Benjamin Watson and receiver Wes Welker.

In the Jaguars' locker room after the game, players and coaches talked about how their plan was executed to the T. They wanted to make the Patriots go the long route by taking away the big play. And the long route it was - not including a kneeldown at the end of the first half, the Patriots had only seven offensive possessions in the game, three in the first half, four in the second.

In a telling statistic, receiver Randy Moss was limited to just one catch for 14 yards, a fourth-down grab in the first quarter. Jaguars cornerback Brian Williams followed him across the field and there was always safety help over the top.

"I think they got back to the old way to cover me, that's to put two or three guys on me the whole game," Moss said. "They were beating me up a little bit in the first half. I think I made that fourth-down catch, where I inside released the cornerback and ran an in-cut but that was the end of me seeing the ball. I think their focus was to not let me get an inside release.

"I think they did a good job of controlling me, but did a bad job of controlling the other 10."

Indeed, while the Jaguars where intent on limiting the Patriots' big plays on the outer edges and deep third of the field, there was considerable room underneath.

Welker finished with nine catches for 54 yards, a modest 6-yard per catch average, while running back Kevin Faulk was next in line with five grabs for 36 yards. One of the biggest passing plays of the night was delivered by running back Laurence Maroney, who had a 33-yard catch and run in the first quarter to set up the team's first touchdown.

"They played a lot of two-deep zone and I thought Tom did a good job of taking what was [there] and who the open guys were," coach Bill Belichick said. "That was sometimes a back, sometimes a tight end, sometimes it was the inside slot receiver. We played a lot of four-receiver sets and a lot of balls went inside. It was tougher for the outside receivers."

Moss, in particular.

"It was kind of weird, because throughout the regular season, I didn't really see much of that," Moss said.

The Patriots had just 58 offensive snaps on the night, tying for their third fewest in a game this season. That created a possession-style game.

"There were several long drives in the first half where one team took it the length of the field and the other team took it the length of the field. There weren't a lot of possessions," Belichick said. "I thought it was important that we made the most of our possessions and for the most part we did. We needed to make those count."

As Belichick pointed out, avoiding turnovers was imperative. The Jaguars had one first-quarter turnover - a David Garrard fumble caused by defensive end Ty Warren - that set up the Patriots' second touchdown. The Patriots had no such miscues.

In terms of schematic approach, the Patriots had three or four receivers on the field for 45 of the 58 plays. So their approach was to spread the field.

Jacksonville had primarily played with a nickel, five-defensive back package against spread formations this year, but it also played a six-defensive back dime package last night, more than it has in games this season. At times this season, the Jaguars played with just three defensive linemen, but not for the extended period they did last night.

The Jaguars' approach provided opportunities for the Patriots' running game and Maroney (122 yards, 22 carries) took advantage, especially late in the third quarter when he ripped off back-to-back runs of 29 and 11 yards against the nickel defense. Brady lauded the blocking of the team's receivers down the field, as the runs came out of three-wide sets.

Fullback Heath Evans liked that the Patriots' fast-break offense showed it could win in a slow-down game.

"I think against a defense like them, we knew going in that we were going to have to go on 12- and 15-play drives to win this game, make fourth down, make third-and-shorts," he said.

"I think it says we're extremely well coached. Games like this come down to preparation. A lot of teams can get frustrated if you're used to a fast-track offense and are thrown into a slow, methodical game like this was. But I think we handled it well because of our coaching. We were prepared that way all week."

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.