It’s hard to believe for someone who’s a Florida native, but Jabar Gaffney seems to thrive in cold-weather games, when the lights are brightest. In the middle of an extremely balanced effort for New England was the contribution of Gaffney, who had a five-catch, 90-yard day against Arizona.

Gaffney’s 37-yard catch-and-run early in the second quarter set up New England’s third touchdown of the day.

“He continues to get open, and anything you ask of him, he’s there,” Matt Cassel said Sunday evening. “He’s a great team player and shows up around this time every year. He’s a guy that I rely on and we rely on as an offense.”

In the 2006 playoffs, his first season with New England and his first trip to the postseason, Gaffney had 18 receptions for 207 yards in the first two rounds; last year, during the Pats’ Sunday night showdown with Pittsburgh, he had seven catches for 122 yards and scored on the Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss-to-Brady trick play.

smanza@projo.com