The good news for the Jaguars going into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game is this: the present version of the New England Patriots might be one of the most eminently beatable teams of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era.

I’m not guaranteeing the 9-point underdog Jaguars will prevail, but it’s not the longest of longshots that they pull it off. This is very doable, providing the Jaguars play fundamentally sound, turnover-free football.

Even with the NFL’s greatest coach-quarterback combination in NFL history running a typically efficient operation, these Super Bowl-favored Patriots are still vulnerable in some areas. They can be had, no matter what their 14-3 record indicates.

I’m not suggesting the Patriots are overrated. It’s more that their roster looks less imposing than at most times during the present seven-year run of AFC title game appearances. A lot of that is attrition, which New England has masterfully overcome because a Belichick team is often better than the sum of its parts.

The 2017 Pats are two wins away from a sixth Lombardi Trophy despite losing major pieces to injury in go-to receiver Julian Edelman and linebacker Dont’a Hightower, plus rookie third-round draft pick Derek Rivers. Significant contributors in tackle Marcus Cannon, cornerback Cyrus Jones, linebacker Shea McClellin, receiver Malcolm Mitchell and core special-teams player Nate Ebner missed all or most of the season.

It’s a testament to the Patriots’ mental resolve that they’re back in a familiar place with all the roster upheaval and a 29th-ranked defense, though it stiffens up considerably in the red zone. But when you look at this Belichick team, there’s no aura of invincibility attached to them. Remember, they did lose three games, narrowly beat the DeShaun Watson-led Houston Texans 36-33 at home, and needed an overturned touchdown call last month to survive against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Really, outside of quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski – which might be the NFL’s deadliest red-zone combination – this Patriots team isn’t off the charts in terms of eye-popping talent across the board. They’re just superbly coached and disciplined, which is the scary part more than anything.

The Jaguars can’t bank on New England self-destructing. In 35 playoff games (26-9) under Belichick, they’ve had more than one turnover just 12 times and still went 8-4 in those games. When Belichick’s team wins the turnover battle in the postseason, it’s 16-0.

All that said, there’s no reason for the Jaguars to go up to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and feel intimidated. Didn’t they just beat the same Steelers that New England struggled with for 45 points at the same Heinz Field venue?

Sure, this is a totally different matchup, but nothing will be more fascinating than seeing if the Jaguars’ ball-hawking, No. 2-ranked defense can outduel Brady and the NFL’s most potent offense on the biggest possible stage for these combatants.

Other factors like the Jaguars reviving their lukewarm running game and quarterback Blake Bortles continuing his turnover-free playoff run will impact the outcome. It’s just that the tried-and-true path to eliminating the Patriots is making Brady, who is 7-0 against the Jaguars, feel like he’s under siege.

No NFL defense is better equipped to do that than Sacksonville. The Vikings might hold opponents to less yards per game, but when the Jaguars’ defense is in top form, it can overwhelm opponents and ease the burden on Bortles. When you combine regular season and playoff numbers, the Jaguars’ defense has the most sacks (59) and takeaways (37), along with an NFL-low 67.8 passer rating for opposing quarterbacks.

Remember 10 years ago when the Jaguars were dissected by Brady (26 of 28, 262 yards, 3 TDs) in a 31-20 AFC divisional playoff victory in Foxborough? Well, that came against an average defense that had little flexibility and put zero pressure on Brady.

This defense orchestrated by coordinator Todd Wash is at least two levels above that. It’s the main reason the Jaguars have more than a puncher’s chance on Sunday. When you have four pass-rushers with at least eight sacks, led by a 6-foot-8 monster with a relentless motor in Calais Campbell (14.5 sacks), the potential is there to put a lot of stress on a quarterback.

Let’s not forget Brady was sacked 35 times this year. That Patriots’ offensive line — particularly left tackle Nate Solder, left guard Joe Thuney and center David Andrews – will be severely tested by the fury and power of Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler.

“It’s a solid defense all the way across the board,” Belichick said Wednesday on a conference call with the Jacksonville media. “It’s not a one-man band. They can rush, they can cover, they play zone, they play some man when they want to or need to. They’re good at everything.”

Now you might dismiss those remarks as Belichick just blowing smoke for gamesmanship purposes, but this Jaguars’ defense has undeniably been a force most of this season. Yes, it surrendered 42 points last week at Pittsburgh, but it also had an eighth takeaway for a touchdown and an interception that led to another TD, plus two critical fourth-down stops.

Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit on three incredible deep-ball TD passes in tight coverage to Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, but the Jaguars will face a different Patriots air attack that relies on Brady’s precision throwing on shorter routes.

“That could have been a 21-point loss [for Pittsburgh] real fast without some really big-time plays by some big-time players that I don’t know if New England has at the wide receiver position,” said CBS analyst Tony Romo.

It’s going to take a special all-around performance for the Jaguars to knock off the Patriots, especially from a beastly defense that should be stoked to redeem itself after allowing so many big plays at Pittsburgh.

“This game is going to come down to mental toughness and grit,” said Campbell. “And when the game is on the line, who can be most disciplined and most focused? I imagine the ballgame coming down to the last drive. Who’s going to grit out? Who’s going to be more tough in the final moments? That’s championship football.”

For 18 seasons in the Belichick-Brady era, championship football has largely defined the Patriots. Now here come the upstart Jaguars, after a decade of futility, trying to take down the NFL’s greatest dynasty in its own house.

With that defense, don’t be shocked if the Jaguars pull off the unthinkable. These Patriots are really good, but they’re not invincible.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

Contrary to popular belief, Tom Coughlin — two Super Bowl rings aside as head coach with the New York Giants (2004-15) — has never possessed some kind of magic formula to beat the New England Patriots. Nobody has kryptonite to render the NFL’s version of Superman powerless.

What Coughlin does have, and the Jaguars’ front-office czar has undoubtedly relayed to coach Doug Marrone since hiring him last January, is a blueprint to put his team in position to win games, which includes knocking off the Patriots’ empire of Bill Belichick.

From the Jaguars’ viewpoint, Sunday’s AFC Championship game against New England at Gillette Stadium is the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to earn their first Super Bowl berth at the expense of the league’s dynasty.

But an intriguing storyline that can’t be ignored is Belichick and Coughlin – 30 years after they first forged a relationship as the defensive coordinator and receivers coach, respectively, on Bill Parcells’ 1988 New York Giants staff – competing against each other again on a big NFL stage.

Only this time, instead of as opposing head coaches, Coughlin, who won both his Super Bowls against Belichick’s Patriots, is back in a football chess match with his former coaching colleague and rival in a different capacity.

As the Jaguars’ executive vice-president of football operations, Coughlin oversees the entire organization. He sets the tone in the building, from his mindset as a fierce competitor, to also mentoring coaches because of his wealth of knowledge about game preparation.

While Marrone and his staff formulated the Patriots game plan, there’s little doubt behind the scenes that Coughlin is as emotionally invested in this week’s preparation of getting the Jaguars to the Super Bowl as he was roaming their sideline as head coach for eight years (1995-2002).

Maybe it’s fitting the lone Jaguars’ roadblock to Minneapolis happens to be the Patriots and Coach Hoodie. While Belichick is a five-time Super Bowl championship coach, he has only a 2-3 record against Coughlin’s Giants, plus an 0-2 mark against Coughlin during his coaching stint with the Jaguars when they faced Belichick and the Cleveland Browns during Jacksonville’s expansion 1995 season.

All five Coughlin matchups against Belichick’s Patriots were classics. The winning coach trailed in the fourth quarter each time and the game-winning score in four of those encounters happened with :01, :15, :35 and :57 left on the clock.

That includes Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in Super Bowl XLII and, four years later, Ahmad Bradshaw’s 6-yard TD run in SB XLVI. No opposing coach has gone toe-to-toe for 60 minutes with the Patriots quite like Coughlin.

So with a Super Bowl berth at stake Sunday, did Marrone rely on his fellow Syracuse alumnus and mentor any more this week than usual? He responded with a bit of levity, perhaps not wanting to reveal any more information than necessary.

“I have leaned on Coach [Coughlin] pretty good since day one,” said Marrone. “I don’t think I can lean on him anymore because I’m a big guy. If I lean on him, I hurt him a little. No, but honestly, it’s not something that now all of a sudden that [the Jaguars] have had success that Coach will get more involved.

“It’s been the same way from day one when we started working together. When you say have you leaned on him, I’ve leaned on him quite a bit. We’ve worked with each other quite a bit.”

Even though New England is a 9-point favorite and quarterback Tom Brady is 7-0 against Jacksonville, it has to make Patriots fans a bit squeamish that Coughlin’s fingerprints are all over the Jaguars’ operation.

As Parcells disciples, Belichick and Coughlin are cut from the same coaching cloth. Whatever intimidation factor Belichick’s Patriots have on the rest of the NFL, that edge disappears with Coughlin because their time together as coaching peers goes back 30 years.

When asked by ESPN in 2015 if Coughlin had Belichick’s number, ex-boss Parcells replied: “I don’t know how to answer that. I would tell you that they talked a lot of football when they were assistants together, so maybe the experience of having been with one another gives each of them a little insight they otherwise wouldn’t have had. But I don’t think that is having somebody’s number. I don’t believe that. They have that familiarity with one another personally, but a couple of those [Super Bowl] games the Giants were very fortunate to win and New England was very unfortunate to lose.”

Nobody on the Jaguars’ staff likely has a better feel for that whole Belichick-Coughlin dynamic than offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, who held the same position during Coughlin’s entire 12-year tenure with the Giants. He sees Marrone as an extension of Coughlin, which traces back to the Parcells coaching circle.

“The common denominator you have with Bill [Parcells], Doug [Marrone], Tom [Coughlin] and Bill [Belichick] is, man, are they ever competitive,” said Flaherty. “When you’re competitive as a coach, your players are going to be competitive.

“Doug and Tom kind of have the same football mind. Players asked me when we first got here last year what it’s going to be like, I said, ‘As a player, you’re going to love it if you want your teammates to work hard every day to reach a common goal.’ Now if you don’t, then you’re not going to like it.”

With the demanding Marrone now serving under Coughlin, this AFC Championship is as close as Belichick will get to renewing a rivalry with the one coach to get the better of him on the biggest stage. The Patriots’ 18-year coach didn’t elaborate much Wednesday when asked about his memories of Coughlin with the Giants, saying: “Tom and I go back a long way. Tom did a good job.”

Coughlin has added to a potential Hall of Fame resume by helping orchestrate this Jaguars’ turnaround, the first team to go from 3-13 to an AFC title game in one year. For many football observers, this Jaguars-Patriots matchup could bear a strong resemblance to those epic Coughlin-Belichick battles at the Super Bowl. The key factor in both games was Coughlin’s Giants putting consistent pressure on Brady with a four-man rush, the same ingredient Marrone’s Jaguars now have in Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler, who have combined for 44.5 of the team’s 59 total sacks.

Fowler was a teenager when Coughlin won his Super Bowls, but he remembers vividly how the Giants’ relentless pass rush wore down the Patriots.

“[Michael] Strahan, [Justin] Tuck, No. 72 [Osi Umenyiora], the race-car package they had, it was impressive to watch,” said Fowler. “That’s the only way you’re going to be able to beat Tom Brady. We got to rally, we got to put pressure on him, get in his face.”

CBS analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher says, with the exception of quarterback Blake Bortles, it’s hard to tell much of a difference between the 2017 Jaguars and Coughlin’s Super Bowl champion Giants. Marrone has that same establish-the-run mentality and throwing a lot off play-action, plus a relentless defense capable of making life miserable for Brady.

“Ironically, it’s a little bit of the same coach [the Patriots are] taking on in Jacksonville now,” said Cowher. “I would not say Blake Bortles is Eli Manning at this point, but he’s certainly done a lot of good things. I loved what they did last week [against Pittsburgh Steelers].

“It’s a style of play. You watch Jacksonville, they put a lot of pressure on you. They’re a very good defensive team that creates turnovers. On the other side of the ball, you can’t turn it over on [offense] and you try to keep this game close. [Coughlin] had the same kind of approach, different cast of characters. But it’s the same kind of approach he’s taken to Jacksonville, he had with the Giants.”

The Jaguars may need everything to go right Sunday to overcome the Patriots, Belichick and Brady. History says having Coughlin on their side is a good place to start.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

Regardless of any Tom Brady hand impairment, the Jaguars’ path to the Super Bowl will require one of the hardest things in any NFL postseason: outdoing the New England Patriots at their own specialty of playing disciplined football.

If Jaguars defensive tackle Calais Campbell’s projection is accurate about Sunday’s AFC Championship against the Patriots coming down to the final drive, the path to victory still involves coach Doug Marrone’s team continuing a postseason trend of minimizing self-destruction.

A big reason why the Jaguars have gotten this far is playing turnover-free the past two weeks against the Bills and Steelers. Plus, a combined eight penalties were the fewest in back-to-back games all season. However, three infractions led to Buffalo’s lone field goal and dead-ball fouls on Telvin Smith (taunting) and Jalen Ramsey (unsportsmanlike conduct) gave Pittsburgh favorable field position that led to TDs.

Mistakes of any kind against the Patriots are likely to be more costly. In 26 playoff wins during the Bill Belichick-Brady era, New England has forced 57 turnovers and committed 27. In the Pats’ nine postseason losses since 2005, opponents have turned the ball over six times while collecting 18 turnovers.

“Everybody knows how physical we are, and we’ll be the more physical team, but I don’t think it’s going to come to that,” said defensive end Dante Fowler. “I honestly think it’s going to be whether we get the dumb penalties because they capitalize on those type of things. The Patriots know what they have to do to get to a Super Bowl. We’re just going to have to be one of those teams that outsmart them to get there.”

I see Patriots fans squirming a bit in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars’ defense has the speed and athleticism to make Brady uncomfortable, but will they stay composed when he springs a no-huddle offense on them? Can Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles play as loose and efficient as he did in winning a shootout with the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger?

Those are fair questions for a Jaguars’ team stepping into the most intense national spotlight in franchise history. They’ll handle the big stage better than most people think. I’m still not sure it’s enough to topple the dynasty in Foxborough. Patriots 20, Jaguars 17… .

Memo to Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy: The schtick of putting down Patriots’ opponents for click baits or to infuriate another fan base is tiresome and lazy journalism. But if you desire to be a Woody Paige wannabe, that’s your call… .

NFC championship forecast: Vikings over Eagles by 1 (Super Bowl homefield advantage). Last week: 2 right, 2 Marcus Williams tackling angles.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

Imagine the Jaguars, on the heels of a 3-13 season, making history Sunday by upsetting the New England Patriots to advance to their first Super Bowl.

Seriously, can you picture what Jacksonville would be like then? What the reaction might be along all parts of the First Coast?

I mean, besides mayor Lenny Curry losing his voice while leading the next pro-Jaguars rally in “Doo-Valll!” chants. Or multiple Jacksonville chefs preparing a wonderful feast of crow, then shipping a sample to everybody in the media world who insisted it was insanity to think Blake Bortles could rain on Tom Brady’s parade.

Jaguars’ defensive tackle Abry Jones smiled thinking about the potential scene in his football city if the team returned home Sunday night with the AFC Championship trophy and a Super Bowl berth, saying: “I don’t know, half of it might be on fire, some cars turned over, a whole bunch of beer and liquor in the middle of the streets. I mean, Jacksonville knows how to party.”

Jones then turned serious, adding: “Our fans have been sticking with us for the longest time. I know sometimes they complained about the stadium not being full. But those people that were there, you really want to play for them because they stuck through the hard times, spent their hard-earned money.

“Trust me, we think about them. When the wins come in, that’s one of the first things we’re thinking about.”

Bortles, the Jaguars’ quarterback who continues to be the target of much national criticism and satire about his career, enjoys watching the city becoming galvanized by the team’s postseason success. That includes the welcome-home greeting from thousands of fans at EverBank Field last week after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’d imagine the bigger the game, the bigger the celebration,” said Bortles. “I’m sure it’ll only continue to get better. I think we got a chance to see a little bit of a glimpse of how important football is to this town. I think we all understand it’s been a decade or so of bad ball.”

That’s all behind the Jaguars now. It’s not an exaggeration to say Jacksonville is full of anticipation, ready to erupt at the prospect of going to a Super Bowl after a decade of football futility. If the Jaguars upset the 8-point favored Patriots, if the team in a city once known as Cow Ford takes down the G.O.A.T. quarterback and the NFL’s greatest dynasty, there’s no telling what that kind of momentum could do for all of Jacksonville.

“The excitement has mesmerized people and brought this city together like I’ve never seen since it was announced the NFL was coming to Jacksonville [in November, 1993],” said city councilman Tommy Hazouri, who served as mayor from 1987-91. “I don’t remember the same excitement for the other AFC championships [games after the 1996 and ’99 seasons]. It was great then, but never been greater than it is today.

“It’s brought effervescence to this city that we haven’t in forever. While everybody may not like football, everybody loves the Jaguars. Plus, I’m tired of what they’re saying about Bortles and the Waffle House jokes about Jacksonville. This is almost like the quiet before the storm. If we beat the Patriots, the euphoria will be like the Fourth of July every day of the week.”

The giddiness of Hazouri, a Jaguars’ season-ticket holder since the team’s inception, over this playoff run is understandable. He spent most of his time as mayor unsuccessfully trying to persuade NFL owners to move their team to Jacksonville. He courted the Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals and, yes, the Patriots. Two years before Hazouri took office, former New Orleans Saints owner John Mecum signed an agreement at a USFL owners meeting at Amelia Island to sell his team to a Jacksonville ownership group, but late NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in to nix the deal.

For the longest time, it appeared this city would never get an NFL franchise. Then after landing an expansion team, the Jaguars had an exceptional honeymoon period in the late 1990s under its first head coach, Tom Coughlin, followed by only small pockets of success. The Jaguars went through a decade of hard times with no visible breakthrough, until 2017 happened.

“If we win this one, gosh, what it’ll do for our fans and this city,” said former Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell. “This place will be crazy.”

Brunell was a centerpiece in the Jaguars’ success under Coughlin and quarterbacked in two AFC Championship games, including a 20-6 loss to the Patriots in 1996. But late in his career, he also played with the New Orleans Saints as a backup to record-setting QB Drew Brees during the 2008-09 seasons.

In his final year with the Saints, a team that had previously won just two playoff games in 42 seasons, they were victorious in the Super Bowl over the Indianapolis Colts. It came a time when New Orleans was still trying to recuperate from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina four years earlier.

Since then, a franchise once derisively known as the “Ain’ts,” has never been the same. Getting to the Super Bowl and winning it with Brees transformed the Saints. They went from a perennial NFL laughingstock to a solid franchise, an ascension that’s still evident eight years later.

If that happened in a hurricane-ravaged city, imagine what could happen in Jacksonville if this magical season is extended by defeating the Patriots or, better yet, celebrating with a Super Bowl parade.

“The good thing, too, is this team is going to be pretty good for the next 3-4 years,” Brunell said. “I think there’s going to be a body of work that will put us on the map even more. I think this group will probably do something this year and the year after that. The dark days are gone.”

But to make this playoff run a true springboard for the revitalization of the Jaguars, why not go the distance? This is a chance to elevate the team and city profile by taking down one of the NFL’s model franchises. Jacksonville being the team that possibly ends the Patriots’ dynasty under Bill Belichick and Brady would take this glorious run to a whole another level.

A lot of Jaguars’ fans thought the city was a pretty wild place to be 21 ago after its second-year NFL franchise pulled of a 30-27 upset of the Denver Broncos to reach the AFC Championship game.

But all that excitement, which included thousands of people greeting the team upon its post-midnight return to the old ALLTEL Stadium, might pale in comparison to what could happen Sunday night and the coming days if the Jaguars take down the dynasty.

“Playing New England, I expect it to be the perfect storm for us,” Hazouri said. “I think this city is on the precipice of greatness.”

Calais Campbell, who led the Jaguars with 14.5 sacks and has become one of the team’s most popular players since signing as a free agent from Arizona last March, can hardly contain his enthusiasm. He has thought long and hard about the opportunity to put this franchise on the national map by beating the Patriots.

“The fans definitely deserve to be champions,” said Campbell. “You can see it on the city’s face everywhere you go. It’d be sweet to bring them back a championship. I feel very confident if we just play our game, we’ll be AFC champions.”

Now just picture what kind of celebration that would trigger in Jacksonville, and even for all those Patriot haters who are tired of seeing New England and Brady winning over and over again.

But the Jaguars can’t just dream about this possible milestone victory. They got to go into the Patriots’ house and take it.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. | It doesn’t matter whether the perpetrator of the most rip-your-heart-out defeat in Jaguars’ history was Tom Brady, the NFL’s all-time best quarterback and king of comebacks on a big stage.

Nobody in the devastated Jaguars’ locker room cared that the G.O.A.T. found a way to put a dagger in them, just as he did in overcoming a 28-3 deficit to the Atlanta Falcons at last year’s Super Bowl. Or that he rallied the New England Patriots four other times from double-digit deficits in the postseason.

Ultimately, all that mattered is this was the Jaguars’ moment. This was the golden opportunity of a football lifetime.

Everything had been set up perfectly in the fourth quarter to finish the job Sunday at Gillette Stadium. They were on the cusp of shocking the world, perhaps bringing an end to the New England Patriots’ dynasty in the AFC Championship game.

Somebody making one more lousy, stinkin’ play is all that stood between the Jaguars and the franchise’s first trip to the Super Bowl. Even better, it would come at the expense of Brady and in the Patriots’ house, the venue where the Jaguars came up short 21 years ago in the same AFC Championship game.

Then, pfftttt. The dream died. From “Duu-val!” to “Duu-fall!” in what felt like a blink of an eye.

Brady, the magician that he is, made the Jaguars’ Super Bowl hopes disappear. He engineered two touchdown drives in the final 12 minutes, rallying the Patriots to a 24-20 victory that almost felt like death afterwards in the losing locker room.

“Just dejected,” said tight end Marcedes Lewis. “To get this far, it being in your hands, and to not take it home, it’s tough… . This feeling is going to stay for a long time.”

“We didn’t get the job done,” added cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who had publicly guaranteed a Super Bowl victory to a welcome-back-home crowd at EverBank Field last week after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It’s a terrible feeling.”

Story continues below

Sharp early, Blake Bortles falters late as Jaguars lose to Patriots in AFC title game

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Jaguars’ Two-Minute Drill: AFC Championship

Jaguars' dream run to Super Bowl screeches to a halt in Foxborough

Players and coaches alike struggled to come up with the words to describe the pain of letting a 20-10 lead slip away. Just like that, a special season ended in one of the most crushing ways imaginable.

“Probably the more I think about it, the more it’ll hurt, the more it’ll weigh on my mind about what we could have done better,” said head coach Doug Marrone. “Everyone in that locker room is thinking, ‘What could we have done a better job of to relieve the pain?’ It’s tough.

“Outside of, God forbid, somebody passing away that you feel close to, this is probably as close of pain that you will have. This is the pain you deal with when you lose football games. This is something that you have to deal with and it hurts, and it stays with you for a long time.”

The Jaguars will have the rest of an agonizing offseason to try and forget how a game they had in control — at least as much as you can have when trying to put away Brady – got away from them at closing time.

“At some point, I’ll be mature about it and realize we had a great season,” said linebacker Myles Jack. “But, yeah, I’ll be sad for a while.”

It appeared Jack might have sealed a Jaguars’ victory when got the game’s only turnover by stripping the ball away from Dion Lewis after a 20-yard catch with 13:37 left in the game. Right before the Patriots receiver’s knee touched the ground, the ball came loose and Jack recovered. The Jaguars had New England on the ropes.

A 10-point lead and all the momentum was on their side. The Patriots were already without super-hero tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was too dinged up from a helmet-to-helmet hit by safety Barry Church near the end of the first half.

All the Jaguars had to do was move the chains and bleed some clock, not give Brady time to add to his stupendous legacy.

“At that point, I was like, ‘OK, if we play our perfect game, we should be able to roll up out of here and we’ll be in Minnesota [for Super Bowl] in a little bit,’ ” said Jack. “But yeah, man, Tom Brady did his thing.”

It happened because the Jaguars couldn’t play keep-away in the fourth quarter. Running back Leonard Fournette went nowhere, getting only two yards on four carries. And quarterback Blake Bortles, who played superbly for three quarters, managed to complete just 5 of 13 passes for 68 yards in the last 15 minutes.

“You can never have a safe lead with 12 at the helm,” Jaguars’ safety Tashaun Gipson said of Brady. “We knew we had to keep our foot on the gas… We stopped making plays, some was missed assignments. But you can’t take anything away from them, they made plays.”

All three phases contributed to the collapse. The offense stopped functioning with its previous rhythm. The only bad special teams play of the game, a 20-yard punt return by Amendola, set him up to catch the game-winning TD pass with 2:48 remaining. And Bortles couldn’t answer.

When asked about the Jaguars’ failure to close out the game, defensive tackle Abry Jones replied: “It was Brady being Brady and other people being other people.”

The Jaguars’ defense, after playing superbly most of the day, fell apart at the worst possible time. Brady, who didn’t appear terribly impacted by a hand injury suffered in practice on Wednesday, drove the Patriots 85 yards for one touchdown. Along the way, he converted a third-and-18 to Amendola in front of Gipson for 21 yards that might have been the game-changer.

“I am a better player than to give up a third-and-18,” said Gipson. “If we could re-run that play 10 times, nine out of ten times I make that play.”

There are more than a few plays or decisions the Jaguars would like to take back. One, a brutal delay-of-game penalty in the second quarter nullified a drive-extending, 12-yard pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis to the Patriots’ 32. Instead, Adam Butler sacked Bortles on the replayed third down, ruining a chance to add to a 14-3 lead and keep the ball out of Brady’s hands.

On a potential game-winning drive, Bortles, on first down at the Patriots 38, overthrew Fournette after he got a step on his defender down the left sideline. When Kyle Van Noy sacked Bortles on the next play, he couldn’t do the Brady thing and overcome third-and-19.

In the end, it all came down to the fact the Jaguars’ couldn’t finish a 60-minute game. The Patriots, arguably the most notoriously relentless team in NFL history, simply wouldn’t give up their crown, Gronk or no Gronk.

After the final Brady kneel-down, having watched his quarterback pull another great escape, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick celebrated joyously. Then he acted later as if Brady’s heroics was nothing beyond the ordinary.

“I mean, look, Tom did a great job and he’s a tough guy,” said Belichick. “We all know that, alright? But, we’re not talking about open-heart surgery here.”

Really, Bill? Tell that to the Jaguars and all those black-and-teal fans who were on the brink of euphoria, reveling in the franchise’s greatest victory ever.

Because all Tom Brady did, as he’s done to so many opponents before them, is just cut their heart out.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-450

There’s only so much offseason time the Jaguars’ front office and coaching staff can spend on regret.

Sure, the players may allow Sunday’s 24-20 AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots to linger like a bad hangover for a little while. Whether it’s allowing Tom Brady to convert a third-and-18 on a 21-yard pass over the middle, the careless delay-of-game penalty that stalled momentum when the Jaguars led 14-3, or abandoning speedy running back Corey Grant after he moved the chains three times on first-half pass receptions, there’s plenty to second-guess.

But as an organization, the Jaguars best move on to 2018 quickly. Now remember, the Jaguars don’t have the benefit of a last-place schedule next season. Improving on a 10-6 record, or even matching it, is no given with matchups against the Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

Over the next three months, in honor of quarterback Blake Bortles’ number, here are five things they should do to make sure the 2018 season is as fulfilling as this one:

1. Keep Bortles around. The future at quarterback has been a non-stop topic all season, mainly because Bortles waited until December to provide any compelling evidence that he might be worth that $19 million fifth-year option in 2018. His body of work in the postseason, especially the last two weeks against Pittsburgh and New England, has given him a lot of cachet in the locker room and likely with the powers-that-be in front-office czar Tom Coughlin and GM Dave Caldwell, who drafted him in 2014. Moving on from Bortles is a tougher option now because he’s earned the trust of teammates during this playoff run. He went turnover-free in the postseason, marking the first time since 2002 (Coughlin’s last season as head coach) the Jaguars as a team went three consecutive games without any turnovers. That’s an important part of coach Doug Marrone’s formula for winning games. Other than free agent Kirk Cousins, who will be a minimum $25 million per year, Case Keenum or possibly the Kansas City Chiefs’ Alex Smith via trade, there are a scarce number of realistically available veteran options who represent a significant upgrade. And remember that if you replace No. 5, it means losing a QB who would be in his third year working with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. It’d be a bold move at this point to disconnect from Bortles. But if the right QB (not necessarily first round) with high value is available in the draft, I’d strongly consider grooming one to push Bortles and likely take over for Chad Henne.

2. Strengthen the offensive line. Do not get fooled by the Jaguars finishing as the league’s top rushing attack (141.4 yards per game) — and tying for third among the fewest sacks allowed (24) this season — into thinking the O-line is all set. While those numbers are positive, remember the regular-season rushing totals are padded by Corey Grant running for 109 yards on two fake punts and Bortles being the second-leading rusher (322 yards, 5.6 per carry). It was telling in the second half against New England that the Jaguars, while playing with the lead, could only get 36 yards off 13 Fournette carries. Coach Doug Marrone kept hoping Fournette could “pop one” and it never happened. The Jaguars must create greater competition at the guard spots for A.J. Cann and Patrick Omameh, as well as right tackle Jermey Parnell, by drafting reinforcements. A huge goal for next season is getting Fournette to be more of a home-run hitter and that starts with fortifying the line.

3. Find an impact pass-catching tight end. It’s no coincidence the most productive NFL players at this position in terms of yards and touchdown catches – Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, New England’s Rob Gronkowski and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Zach Ertz – all made the playoffs, with two of them Super Bowl-bound. While Marcedes Lewis is still a dependable blocker at age 34 and a big target, imagine how much more effective Bortles could be if he had a tight end defenses were forced to game-plan for. Since it’s slim pickings in free agency, the Jaguars should break from tradition and invest at least a second-day draft pick on a tight end. Among the intriguing prospects are South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst (Bolles School product), Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews and Wisconsin’s Troy Fumagalli.

4. Tap the brakes in free agency. Coughlin and Caldwell shouldn’t be opening up the vault for anything other than a franchise QB, and that’s under the highly unlikely notion of chasing after Cousins. This is a year to be bargain basement shopping, possibly for a veteran interested in chasing a ring more than money. The Jaguars have done plenty of spending the past couple years, so show some restraint, especially with core players like Jalen Ramsey, Myles Jack, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler and Allen Robinson being contract extension targets over the next two years.

5. Find the right receiver rotation. With Marqise Lee a free agent and a postseason non-factor, the Jaguars should let him walk and see if Allen Hurns is willing to take a pay cut from his $7 million salary or just release him. Staying healthy has been an issue for both of them. Young receivers Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook have the upside to become fixtures behind A-Rob, who is still recovering from a torn ACL in the season opener against Houston. The impending free agent is a must sign for the Jaguars, even if they have to franchise-tag him. Given the possible attrition at receiver and injuries there last season, drafting one might not be a bad idea.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

Hero worship in sports is not always a good thing. It can skew perspective about who is worthy of admiration, especially when the object of affection turns out to be a heavily flawed human being.

Take the late Mickey Mantle, for instance. It wasn’t until shortly before he passed away in 1995 — after the New York Yankees baseball star needed a liver transplant to combat years of alcohol abuse — that he publicly declared himself unworthy of kids’ adulation and had “wasted” a good part of his life.

Harsh admission aside, Mantle had an undeniable impact on millions of baby boomers who grew up loving baseball. Among his most fervent admirers was Larry Jones, the father of Chipper, the former Atlanta Braves star third baseman and a Bolles School product.

When Chipper is likely voted in Wednesday as a first-ballot selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Mick’s influence as the greatest switch-hitter of all time will have been a huge part of it.

Because if Jones had remained a natural right-handed hitter his entire 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves, putting up the same gaudy numbers, his case for the Hall of Fame wouldn’t be considered a lock. However, being a .300 hitter from both sides of the plate, and the only player in history to hit at least 400 career home runs in the process (Jones hit 468), nobody doubts he’s Cooperstown-bound.

And those seeds of greatness were sown in the late 1970s on the family’s fern farm in Pierson by Larry, a decade before his only child transferred 95 miles away and became a boarder at Bolles for two years.

Larry’s passion was to mold Chipper into a ballplayer. Not just any player, but a switch-hitter like Mantle, who was Larry’s idol growing up.

It turns out, the kid was a natural. Chipper not only took to the instructions of his father, an ex-shortstop in the Chicago Cubs organization, but also inherited the same love of the game.

“He just had an ability when he was young to love the game and mimic hitters,” said Don Suriano, Chipper’s coach at Bolles. “That’s something that’s always been in his DNA. He wanted to be a switch-hitter and good at the game. That’s not something in everybody. Chipper loved to be taught, loved to practice, loved to play. It just oozed out of him his whole career.”

With tennis balls in hand, Larry began throwing pitches to a then 4-year-old Chipper, wielding a PVC pipe for a bat. The two played simulated games as often as possible. They used lineups from major league teams and Chipper, a natural right-handed hitter, often chose the Los Angeles Dodgers because they had more right-handers.

But when it was time for Rick Monday or the switch-hitting Reggie Smith to hit, Chipper (facing his right-handed throwing dad) was forced to bat from the left side. He made it so much part of his muscle memory as a kid, he even started writing and brushing his teeth as a southpaw.

“Being a switch-hitter was always talked about,” Jones said in a phone interview Tuesday. “My dad wasn’t as hard on me when I switched to the left side because it wasn’t my natural side. I dabbled hitting left-handed in some games in Little League, but I didn’t start doing it on a regular basis until Legion ball when I was 15 or 16. I only [hit left-handed] in high school when I was feeling good.”

It took a while for Chipper to commit to the idea of switch-hitting all the time. But knowing how much harder it was to hit a good breaking ball pitcher, he soon realized switch-hitting had its benefits.

“I never had trouble with the fast ball all my life,” said Chipper. “Now a pitcher with a good breaking ball, that was different. So being a switch-hitter, it dawned on me that it was a lot easier hitting it if that pitch was always breaking into me.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt whatsoever, [being a switch-hitter] is probably the No. 1 reason I’m in this situation right now. I can’t imagine all those years playing in the big leagues having to face Randy Johnson as a left-handed hitter or Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling right-handed. When teams turned you around to hit right-handed [by bringing in a lefty relief pitcher] late in the game, I was ready for it.”

What a big-league career it was, too.

Jones was the Braves’ primary No. 3 hitter for nearly two decades, went to the postseason 14 consecutive years, accumulated eight All-Star selections, won both a World Series and a batting title. Jones’ numbers — .303 batting average, 1,623 RBI (most of any third baseman), 2,726 hits, 1,512 walks, .529 slugging percentage — elevate him into a spot right behind Mantle as baseball’s all-time best switch-hitter. He hit .304 right-handed and .303 left-handed.

“That’s probably the numbers I’m most proud of,” Jones said. “There might have been a hair more power left-handed, but it’s cool to be at .300 for a career from both sides.

“A lot of great players made a decision as young kids to go one way [hitting exclusively left or right]. I did it both ways. It was a decision I felt would help me in the long run.”

When the voters’ ballots are counted Wednesday, another decision Jones made about 20 years ago — to not give in to the temptation of using steroids at a time when many of his peers were indulging — should also work to his benefit.

Jones, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Milton, acknowledges he was tempted to use steroids in the 1990s as he watched his peers put up monster numbers. His first wife, Karin, talked him out of it by asking one simple question: Would he want to face his father and mother, Lynne, if they ever found out?

“Yeah, there was some pressure there [to use steroids],” Jones told me last year while promoting “Ballplayer,” his newly-released book. “Ultimately, I wouldn’t have been able to look my Mom and Dad in the eye. It would have cheapened all those days I spent working on my game on those fields in Pierson. It would have killed them. That was a huge motivator in staying clean.”

That choice, along with becoming a switch-hitter by his father’s prodding and admiration for Mantle, should pay huge dividends with a favorable call Wednesday afternoon from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I went golfing today and played really well,” said Jones. “Hopefully, that’s a good omen for the week.”

While it’s long been documented that Jones, like Mantle, made some questionable off-the-field decisions in his own life, which doomed his first two marriages, nobody disputes what Chipper accomplished between the white lines.

It’s almost certain there’ll soon be another power-hitting, switch-hitter in Cooperstown. When Jones gives his Hall of Fame speech, from up in baseball heaven, The Mick will probably be tipping his cap.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

When the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters decide on February 3 which five modern-era candidates get into Canton, former Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli and 9-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins, a Raines High product, will face identical hurdles.

Boselli and Dawkins are HOF-worthy and will likely get in at some point. The problem is, both face a position logjam, plus Ray Lewis and Randy Moss probably locking up two of the five spots for modern-era finalists.

That’s an uphill battle for offensive linemen and defensive backs to snag three remaining spots. Boselli is among five linemen up for enshrinement, including Washington Redskins tackle Joe Jacoby, who could draw sentimental votes in his last year as a modern-era candidate. Guard Steve Hutchinson is in his first year of eligibility and the others — Kevin Mawae and Alan Faneca— are repeat finalists. That’s a tough breakthrough in a crowded O-line field.

Dawkins’ primary competition could be safety John Lynch, also a 9-time Pro Bowler, five-time HOF finalist and GM for the San Francisco 49ers. With cornerbacks Ty Law and Everson Walls in the mix, that’s a lot of secondary choices for voters to sort through.

A year ago, Boselli and Dawkins were eliminated on the last cut from 10 to five finalists. All I know is both were too good to be kept waiting much longer…

So why did Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye give so much cushion to New England Patriots receiver Brandin Cooks (six catches, 100 yards) in the AFC Championship Game? My guess is Bouye was less aggressive after getting burned for two TDs the previous week by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown… .

Regarding angst of Jaguars fans over the whistle blowing dead after Myles Jack stripped the ball from the Patriots’ Dion Lewis: the complaints are minimized without the benefit of multiple replays. In real time, the takeaway was an incredibly difficult call for officials. CBS analyst Tony Romo said “that’s a tough one” after seeing several replays. At least they didn’t rule Lewis’ knee down and allow the Patriots to retain possession.

After getting that turnover and holding a 20-10 fourth quarter lead, the Jaguars had 38 more plays (excluding knee-downs, fair catches) to possibly close out the game, but came up short. That was the Jaguars’ culprit, not the officiating… .

Chipper Jones on steroid suspect Barry Bonds and his Baseball Hall of Fame hurdle: “Barry Bonds is the best baseball player I’ve ever seen don a uniform. Bonds was king of the galactic All-Stars. The rest of us were just All-Stars. I’m not going to tell people how to vote or not to vote. The people that cheat are going to be in, if some are not already.”…

I’ll make my Super Bowl pick next week. Last pigskin forecast: 1 right, 1 Shaquem Griffin NFL combine non-invite.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

For those of you inclined to have the Jaguars find a better option at quarterback in 2018 than Blake Bortles, I have one question: who outside the almost non-existent possibility of free agent Drew Brees leaving the New Orleans Saints for Jacksonville do you think represents a significant upgrade?

But let’s come back to the Jaguars’ potential offseason quarterback options later and focus on No. 5. After all, Bortles is the one the Jaguars hold a $19.1 million option on for next season, which becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the team when the new league year starts on March 14.

Honestly, nobody knows with anywhere close to 100 percent certainty whether Bortles is the long-term answer for the Jaguars. He’s so much a work in progress, though his performance since December began has undoubtedly elevated him in the eyes of his employer and teammates.

Bortles’ overall resume — especially his lukewarm 59 percent career completion percentage and continuing struggle to lead his team on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter — suggests he still has a lot of room for improvement.

Even after taking his team within a play or two of reaching the Super Bowl last week against the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, there’s no way to know if that means this is the start of Bortles’ ascension into becoming possibly a top-10 NFL quarterback. Or if his three-game, turnover-free postseason on the biggest stage he’s ever competed is an adequate sample size to feel good about his career trajectory.

At this point, it’s hard to fathom why a franchise that made Bortles the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2014 wouldn’t stick with him a little while longer. Unless Brees stuns everybody by leaving New Orleans — where he’s been a matinee idol for 12 years and won a Super Bowl — to chase a ring in Jacksonville, the price tag for the remaining quarterback options make them just as risky as rolling the dice with Bortles.

Let’s start with the Washington Redskins’ Kirk Cousins, who will command a monster contract as a free agent, lost his only playoff game at home, and has a 24-23-1 record since becoming a full-time starter at age 26. Yes, his 65.5 career completion percentage and touchdown-interception ratio of 99-55 is superior to Bortles, but does that mean the 29-year-old Cousins is a better fit for the Jaguars than a quarterback who has started to establish himself in Jacksonville and is four years younger?

Another compelling option is the Kansas City Chiefs’ Alex Smith. He’s coming off a career year (TD-interception ratio of 26-5, NFL-high QB rating of 104.7), but the 33-year-old Smith can only be obtained via trade and would require the Jaguars to likely spend a couple draft picks they may not want to part with.

Other potential free-agent options, like the Minnesota Vikings’ QB trio of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater, might be worth kicking the tires, but two of them have injury issues. Great season aside as a replacement starter, Keenum has been with four different teams in the last four years and, like Bortles, never showed much promise until 2017.

Point being, Brees is the one game-changer on the market who, if he wanted to be part of the Jaguars’ organization with their killer defense, front-office czar Tom Coughlin would be crazy to pass up. Cousins and Smith are certainly intriguing, but the upside over Bortles is much more iffy.

Remember, and this factor can’t be discounted, the maligned Bortles broke through some barriers this season. He was benched in preseason and never pouted. He just kept working to keep the job many people thought he had lost permanently to unproven veteran Chad Henne, as absurd as that notion still seemed in August and certainly now.

For the first time in four years, Bortles not only won games, he genuinely won over a locker room. Teammates respected the mental tenacity he showed in the face of so much criticism at home and from around the country, especially the way he didn’t let it get under his skin when ripped publicly by opposing players.

“We believe in Blake,” said defensive end Dante Fowler. “If we wanted a quarterback, it would be him. If people really know football, these are the moments when you really see how good players are. He stepped up in the playoffs, point blank.

“Whether he made it to the Super Bowl or not, people at one time thought we weren’t even going to make it to the playoffs. Blake shut a lot of people up and beat a lot of odds. It’s the NFL. You got to give him props.”

Now without the Jaguars’ playoff run, Bortles’ future here is unquestionably on much shakier ground. Winning a shootout with Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh and taking the Patriots’ dynasty to the wire in Foxborough has to make Coughlin, GM Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone a lot more reluctant to move on from Bortles.

Besides, who parts ways with a young quarterback who just brought a team within one step of a Super Bowl? In 25 years since the NFL salary-cap era began, only two of 100 AFC/NFC Championship game starting QBs — the Baltimore Ravens’ Trent Dilfer in 2000 and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Neil O’Donnell in 1995 — went to a different team the following year.

As the NFL quarterback picture begins to clear up in 45 days, the Jaguars must also decide what to do about Bortles’ contract if they do keep him. He hasn’t done enough to earn a $100 million-plus extension, and it’s doubtful his agent would settle for a two-year deal, even if it was loaded with a lot of guaranteed money. At this point, the best thing is just let Bortles play another year for $19.1 million and see if he does enough to justify the huge payday.

It looks like the big investment the Jaguars made in Bortles four years ago is finally starting to pay off. He’s only 25-years-old. As much as the Patriots’ loss still stings, how much worse would it be if you replaced Bortles and he gave somebody else the quarterback you were looking for all along?

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

GAINESVILLE | Sometimes, athletes can become so mesmerized by instant fame, even their best effort to move on isn’t enough to elevate their game to the next level.

That’s why you have to admire Florida point guard Chris Chiozza. He didn’t let one miracle shot at Madison Square Garden – a running three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Wisconsin 84-83 in the Sweet 16 - define who he is as a player. No matter how much people still remind him of his stupendous “One Shining Moment” moment, Chiozza has grown weary of that buzzer-beating shot being his sole hoops identity.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Chiozza said. “I don’t hear about it as much anymore, but I definitely still hear about it. I don’t really talk about it that much. I try to put it in the past.”

The Gators’ senior floor leader has done that in the best manner possible this season: by using his vision on the floor and terrific passing instincts to keep a somewhat limited Florida team in contention for a Southeastern Conference title.

“He plays with a quiet confidence that I think rubs off on his teammates, which is a big factor in us having success on the road,” said UF coach Mike White. “He’s got to be one of the most important players to his team in the country.”

White and the No. 23-ranked Gators (15-6, 6-2 SEC), who face Georgia on the road Tuesday night, shudder to think where they’d be without Chiozza directing the offense for 32 minutes every game. As much as Florida misses the interior presence of 6-foot-11 John Egbunu, who tore his ACL last year and may not return for another week or two, it pales in comparison to how not having Chiozza would impact UF’s on-floor chemistry. The Gators would be literally lost if they didn’t have “Cheeze” playing traffic cop.

“I don’t even want to think about what we’d do, probably have KeVaughn [Allen] and maybe freshman Mike [Okauru] to handle the ball,” said junior forward/center Kevarrius Hayes. “[Chiozza] offers so much to the team as far as being a great defender, passer and ballhandler that it keeps the pressure off everybody else. I don’t know of anybody who has the eyes to see [the floor] like he does.”

As much as the 6-foot Memphis maestro uplifted the Gators with his magical shot against Wisconsin, he’s done far more this season, putting together a body of work that should be worthy of SEC Player of the Year consideration.

Chiozza, who served mostly as a backup to Kasey Hill his first three years, is running the UF show as smoothly and efficiently as any of the more heralded NBA point guard prospects in the country. Just as Scottie Wilbekin rose up to become a star point guard on the 2014 Final Four team, so has Chiozza elevated his game to make the Gators a factor in the SEC race.

After always coming off the bench last season to provide a spark, Chiozza is now flourishing in a much bigger role. His phenomenal on-court instincts are no longer an occasional lift. It’s a game-changer for a UF team that is reliant on Chiozza getting the ball in the right spots to three-point shooters, primarily Egor Koulechov, Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen.

But the Gators’ ballhandling wizard has been far more than a facilitator, as evidenced by his 3.5-1 assist-turnover ratio, which is eighth in the country. Chiozza has also raised his scoring average from 7.2 points per game the last two years to 12.6.

He doesn’t always look to score, but Chiozza has his take-the-game-over moments, like when he reeled off 13 consecutive points in Saturday’s home win against Baylor. Or when he went off for 26 points and 10 assists in a double overtime win against 14th-ranked Gonzaga in November.

Whatever concerns White had about Chiozza moving forward from igniting a Garden party atmosphere at last year’s NCAA Tournament, they’ve quickly dissipated. That’s because the fastest point guard in UF history refused to let the spotlight impede his progress as a player.

“We were concerned as a staff in the spring and summer if he’d be able to move on, move forward from a mental health standpoint rather than hanging his hat on that shot,” said White. “One of the challenges I gave Chris was to consider what his legacy would be after his senior year. Would people base his legacy off of one shot or how this team performs this season?

“That’s really the only conversation we’ve had. He’s been absolutely terrific from a mental approach and consistency standpoint. He continues to get better every day… . It seems like, night in and night out, he’s not only filling the box score, but makes winning plays that don’t show up in the box score.”

One exception was the Missouri game, where Chiozza literally stole the game. He anticipated a nonchalant pass from Jordan Geist to Kassius Robertson, stealing the ball and making an uncontested layup with less than one second remaining for a 77-75 victory.

It wasn’t as spellbinding as the Madison Miracle, but another example of Chiozza giving his team what they need at any given moment.

Chris Chiozza has done more than move on from The Shot. He’s moving on up as one of the Gators’ all-time impactful players.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540