Patriots vs. Jaguars: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info, Game Time and More

The New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars are not teams that meet often, but when they do it usually ends with a victory for the former. The Patriots hold an 8-1 record in the nine meetings with the Jags, with the lone loss coming in the 1999 AFC Wild Card game.

A win against New England in Jacksonville, however, would be the biggest win for the franchise in recent years. It's certainly not a Super Bowl-level game for their opponent, but the Jaguars could send shock waves through the NFL with a victory in Week 16.

On the other hand, the Patriots will be looking to further their chances at the AFC's No. 2 playoff seed for the postseason. After almost completing a 28-point comeback victory over the 49ers in Week 15, Tom Brady's crew will ride into Jacksonville with as much confidence as a team can have off a loss.

Both teams will be looking to make a statement in this contest, with the Jaguars looking to spoil the Patriots' hopes of a high playoff seed.

Where: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.

When: Sunday, Dec. 23 at 1 p.m. ET

Watch: CBS

Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket

Radio: WOKV-FM (Jacksonville) or WEEI (Boston)

Betting Line: New England (-14), according to Bet Online

Injury Report (Via CBS Sports)

*As of 12/17/12

New England Patriots

DT Ron Brace, elbow

TE Rob Gronkowski, forearm and hip

LB Tracy White, elbow

DL Jermaine Cunningham, duspension

Jacksonville Jaguars

RB Rashad Jennings, concussion

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, foot

RB Jordan Todman, calf

CB Aaron Ross, calf

DE George Selvie, concussion

What's at Stake?

For the Patriots, it's all about positioning themselves into a cozy first-round bye in the postseason. New England no longer controls its own destiny on the way to the No. 2 seed, which has got to have the team steaming.

Head coach Bill Belichick's team will need to win its final two games against Jacksonville and Miami. The Patriots also have to hope the Broncos lose against either Cleveland or Kansas City. Otherwise the Patriots can kiss their first-round bye adios and find themselves featured on Wild Card weekend.

Jacksonville doesn't have any playoff dreams for this season, but it would be a huge uplift to beat the Patriots in front of its home crowd. The Jaguars want to get back to their winning ways of several seasons ago, and one way to build towards that is with an epic upset.

It's all about pride for the home team in this contest, while their opponent will be fighting for playoff positioning.

Fantasy Plays

New England Patriots: TE Aaron Hernandez

It's no secret that the Patriots love their tight ends. If Gronkowski is out again, look for Hernandez to be Brady's favorite target.

In a matchup that heavily favors New England, Hernandez should see a similar amount of targets and more success than in Week 15. Against San Francisco, Brady threw to him 19 times with Hernandez catching 10 for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Against a vastly inferior defense this week, Hernandez might just double his touchdown output from Week 15 and rack up some nice yardage for fantasy owners.

Jacksonville Jaguars: WR Cecil Shorts

There's been plenty of talk of just how great wide receivers Andre Johnson and Dez Bryant have looked in the past few weeks for their teams. Little love has been given to Cecil Shorts in those talks, but fantasy owners are enjoying his under-the-radar production of late.

Shorts has posted four touchdowns in the past five games and 100-plus yards receiving in four of the last seven contests. With Maurice Jones-Drew on the sidelines for much of this season, the only trustworthy Jaguar to start in fantasy has been this wideout.

Garbage time might not matter in the real world but does in fantasy. Shorts should get enough targets to cash in on at least one touchdown and some quality yardage in this game.

What They Are Saying

Hall of Fame running back and former Patriot Curtis Martin was in Gillette Stadium for his former team's game against the 49ers.

Martin spent most his career rushing for the Pats and New York Jets and spoke a bit about his transition from New England to the Big Apple before the game.

Martin told ESPN Boston's Mike Rodak, "As much as I would have liked to have experienced a long career with the Patriots, it just wasn't in the cards for me. But the Patriots have done well and I feel like I have done pretty well."

While he did retire as a Jet, Martin told the reporter that he still remains a fan of both the Patriots and Jets to this day.

Week 15 turned out to be one filled with losses for both the Patriots and Jaguars. The latter fell to Miami 24-3.

Ryan Tannehill and not Chad Henne proved to be the difference maker in the clash of the two Florida-based teams.

After the game, Henne spoke about the loss to Steven Wine of the Associated Press (via Yahoo! Sports). "It was one of those days where it was tough,'' Henne said. ''There are some plays out there I wish I could have back."

Both the Jags' starting quarterback and the team will be hoping to be speak a little more positively to the media following the Week 16 game.

Key Matchup: Patriots secondary vs. Cecil Shorts

The Jaguars don't have many intimidating weapons on offense with Shorts being their only real threat. If the Patriots take him out of the equation for Henne, then New England will have an easy day defensively.

There's no debating that the Patriots have the better offense and defense when comparing these two teams. As long as New England double covers Shorts and makes the Jags play from behind, it'll be a pretty relaxed trip to Jacksonville.

Prediction

The fact the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have the Patriots as a 14-point favorite tells you this is a mismatch. Jacksonville has just two wins all season and are no threat to a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Don't expect to see an miraculous upset in this one. The Patriots will dominate coming off that tough loss in Week 15. The Jaguars will be lucky to keep this a 14-point game when all is said and done.

Patriots 48, Jaguars 17