FOXBORO — Not a day has passed since Matthew Slater arrived as a fifth-round draft choice in 2008 that he’s taken anything for granted when it comes to the Patriots and the NFL.
Slater overcame a rocky start, flaming out as a kick returner despite having been an All-American at UCLA at that very job, to become a seven-time team captain and seven-time Pro Bowl selection as a special-teams player.
He’s been a key member of nine straight playoff teams since missing out as a rookie and will play in his seventh straight AFC Championship Game on Sunday when the top-seeded Patriots face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.
And he’s abundantly appreciative of what he and the rest of his teammates have once again achieved as they find themselves one win away from playing in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last seven seasons.
“You look at what this team has been able to accomplish and the opportunities that we’ve had in the postseason,” Slater said. “It’s very rare. We understand that, and it’s certainly something that we don’t take for granted. It never gets old, because this is why you play the game.
“It’s the ultimate team sport, and the biggest focus that you have coming into the year is the success of the team. We’ve been really fortunate to be in these types of games, and we’re excited about our opportunity.”
The Patriots, fresh off winning Super Bowl LI, were a preseason favorite to get back to the big game. Not so for the Jaguars, who held joint practices in Foxboro with the Patriots in August before the two met in their exhibition opener.
The Jags won three games and missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season in 2016, leading many pigskin prognosticators to predict they’d finish last in the AFC South this season.
Instead, they went 10-6 and won their division before edging the Buffalo Bills in a low-scoring affair and holding off the Pittsburgh Steelers in a high-scoring contest to advance to the conference championship for the first time since 1999.
“This is an elite football team. I think when we left here in the summer after going against them in the joint practice, we saw these guys [were] going to be good,” Slater said. “They’ve proven it all year long, and this will be the best football team that we’ve played all season-long.”
The Jaguars led the league in rushing behind rookie Leonard Fournette, who ran for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns in just 13 games while dealing with a balky right ankle. He gained 109 yards and scored three TDs in the upset of the Steelers.
But they have a pedestrian passing attack that’s led by third-year quarterback Blake Bortles, the league’s 20th-rated passer. Bortles was just 10-for-22 for 104 yards against the Steelers before miraculously completing his final four passes, for 110 yards and a TD and three additional first downs.
Whether he can retain that hot hand remains to be seen.
However, the defense is indeed special as it ranked first against the pass and second in total defense, points allowed (16.8) and sacks (55). The one weak spot is stopping the run, as the Jags allowed 4.3 yards a carry, which tied them for 23rd.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey [“He is very, very good. The good Lord made that guy, and he said, ‘Let there be corner.’ ” said Slater] — and defensive end Calais Campbell were first-team All-Pro selections while linebacker Telvin Smith and cornerback A.J. Bouye were named to the second team.
The Jags are talented, physical and confident — or is it cocky? — the latter best exemplified by Ramsey announcing at a pep rally Sunday night the team would win Super Bowl LII.
“When you have those types of players in that kind of a defense playing the way that they do, again, I don’t know who wouldn’t be confident when there is no weakness,” Slater said. “Especially on the defensive side of the ball, why would you not go out there and play with confidence?
“Ultimately — we’ve talked about this — what goes on in an NFL locker room, guys have to be able to ignore the noise, and they have done that. They have ignored noise and they have rallied around one another. They have trusted their process. They believe in one another as they should.”
And one thing Slater steadfastly believes is not taking anything for granted when it comes to the Patriots and success.