In the first half, the Patriots' defense was pushed around by the Jaguars.

In the second half, New England's defense didn't exactly resemble Pittsburgh's old Steel Curtaion, but it got the job done when it had to.

"We didn't play particularly well in the first half," said veteran safety Rodney Harrison, who sealed the win with a fourth-quarter interception. "We left too many plays on the field. We executed better in the second half. At the end of the game we made more plays. We'll learn from the mistakes we made and get better."

Veteran linebacker Junior Seau offered a similar critique.

"In the first half we were chasing them," said Seau of the opening 30 minutes, which ended with the teams tied at 14-14.

"In the second half we calmed down and allowed our schemes to take over. We're proud of that, but we need to correct all the mistakes we made in the first half," he said.

-STEVEN KRASNER