Film room: How Patriots' Amendola has been key in filling Edelman void

The New England Patriots' season ended up where many predicted it would - a Super Bowl appearance - so it's easy to forget the campaign started with a disaster, namely the season-ending injury to Julian Edelman in the preseason.

Rob Gronkowski may be the Patriots' best offensive weapon and one of the NFL's few true unicorns, but Edelman is arguably more important to keeping the New England machine rolling.

Edelman's innate understanding of how to attack defenses stemming from his college days as a quarterback, his outstanding quickness, body control, and route-running skills, and his chemistry with Tom Brady all combine to make him invaluable to New England's dink-and-dunk attack.

But, in true Patriots fashion, they found a way to not only survive without Edelman but to thrive. And it all starts with Danny Amendola, one of the more underrated New England players.

Edelman and Amendola share obvious similarities: They're both slot-based receivers standing at almost the same build (Amendola is an inch taller, Edelman is 10 pounds heavier). But it's their shared ability to find space - especially in zone defenses - and their mastery of underneath routes that has allowed Amendola to somewhat fill the void left by Edelman, along with other factors, such as the extended use of the likes of James White in the short-passing game.

The trust the Patriots have in Amendola in critical situations was highlighted in the second half of the AFC Championship Game win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Gronkowski out for the second half with a concussion, Amendola stepped up in a big way, including two touchdowns catches.

On an important third-and-18 in the fourth quarter, and backed up to their own 25-yard line, the Patriots were looking to take advantage of the Jaguars' passive coverage approach with Amendola in the slot (second from the top):

Jacksonville called for what appeared to be a Cover-4 look, essentially splitting the four deep zones and assigning them to the two cornerbacks and two safeties. The deepest safety, Tashaun Gipson, is basically responsible for Amendola.

Amendola on Gipson is a bad matchup for the Jaguars, as the defensive back can struggle in deep coverage. The wideout recognized the zone, ran downfield at Gipson, forcing him backward, before cutting across the safety's face to the inside and taking advantage of the space between Gipson's zone and the linebackers dropping underneath.

Brady, too, deserves huge credit for the play, shifting to his left in the pocket and moving linebacker Myles Jack from his spot underneath Amendola, opening up even more space for the pass-catcher with which to work. Amendola made the crucial grab, the Patriots' drive continued, and the rest is history.

It was the exact kind of do-or-die play the Patriots usually thrust onto Edelman's shoulders, due to his ability to kill zone defenses with his agility and smarts.

Luckily, Amendola, while not on Edelman's level, is more than capable of excelling within the framework of New England's scheme.

On this simple fourth-down play early against the Jaguars, Amendola again excelled thanks to New England's ability to scheme their receivers open:

James White ran a pick on the inside corner covering Amendola from the slot. Amendola was able to use his quickness and burst to slide around White and attack Telvin Smith on what was essentially a wheel route.

Smith was unable to recover as Amendola widened his route to the outside of the field, giving Brady the space to drop in a perfect over-the-shoulder throw and, again, extend a New England drive with an impressive grab.

The timing of the route and the understanding of what the defense's look is opening up for them between the two is classic Edelman-Brady making defenses look foolish.

The Philadelphia Eagles don't have the man-cover corners the Jaguars boast, so will have to find a way to counter Amendola if they're to try to stop the Patriots with more zone-coverage looks in Super Bowl LII.

However, if history and how they reacted to losing Edelman tell us anything, the Patriots will likely have something up their sleeves for every scenario.