Hand it to Brady, Patriots do it again
AFC PATRIOTS 24, JAGUARS 20
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Talk about a familiar ring. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are heading back to the Super Bowl.
Brady shook off a hand injury and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 2:48 remaining, rallying the Patriots to a 24-20 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
Brady, wearing a black bandage on his right hand after cutting it during practice earlier in the week, showed no signs of being hampered.
And, with the game — and the season — possibly on the line, the Patriots star came up big again.
“I’ve had a lot worse,” Brady said. “I didn’t know that on Wednesday. It was a crazy injury. Wednesday, New England Patriots Thursday, Friday was a little scary. Then I started getting
some confidence and today we did just enough to win.”
Brady finished 26 of 38 for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns to Amendola for the Patriots, who’ll play Philadelphia in the Super Bowl in Minneapolis on Feb. 4.
It’s the eighth Super Bowl appearance for Brady and Coach Bill Belichick, who have won five times — including last year’s 34-28 overtime rally against the Atlanta Falcons.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Brady said. “It’s pretty amazing. Just to be on a team that wins these kinds of games, it’s just a great accomplishment. I’m just so proud of everyone on our team, we made so many great plays. Defense played so great when they needed to. Just an amazing game.”
Blake Bortles and the Jaguars led 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold against the defending champions. The NFL’s second-ranked defense kept Brady and the Patriots at bay for most of the game, but also lost linebacker Myles Jack and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus on consecutive plays on New England’s winning drive.
Bortles completed 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown, Leonard Fournette ran for 76 yards and a touchdown and Allen Hurns had 6 catches for 80 yards for Jacksonville.
Bortles, who had never won a playoff game before this month, had outplayed Brady through three quarters, with a quarterback rating of 121.9 to the five-time NFL champion’s 87.5.
But Bortles said he didn’t allow himself to start thinking about making it to the Super Bowl.
“I don’t think you can, especially when playing Tom Brady and the Patriots,” he said.
“Because they’re going to score. They’re going to find a way to put pressure on you.”
Jacksonville — looking to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history — had one more shot, but Bortles’ throw on fourthand-15 to Dede Westbrook was knocked away by Stephon Gilmore.
The Patriots then ran out the clock with Dion Lewis’ 18-yard scamper with 90 seconds remaining sealing the victory. They played most of the game without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left the game late in the first half and didn’t return.
Brady warmed up without a glove on his hand, and
he came out throwing. He completed his first six passes — including a 20-yarder to Amendola on fourth-and-1 from the Jaguars 30 — for 57 yards to march the Patriots down the field. The drive stalled when Brady was sacked by Dante Fowler Jr., and New England settled for Stephen Gostkowski’s 31-yard field goal.
A wide-open Marcedes Lewis gave the Jaguars a 7-3 lead 45 seconds into the second quarter with a 4-yard touchdown catch from Bortles, who was 5 for 5 for 66 yards on an impressive and efficient seven-play, 76-yard drive.
Fournette gave Jacksonville a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter with a 4-yard TD run, hushing the crowd at Gillette Stadium.
The Jaguars made some big mistakes that hurt them just before halftime. Bortles completed a 12-yard pass to Lewis on third-and-7 from the Patriots 44, but Jacksonville was called for delay of game — after New England called a timeout.
That wiped out a first down, and Bortles was sacked by Adam Butler on the next play to force a punt. Jacksonville was called for six penalties that cost the Jaguars 98 yards, while New England had just one 10-yard call against it.
On first-and-10 from the Patriots 40, Brady threw a long pass for Gronkowski, who was injured when he got popped by Barry Church just as the ball was arriving. Church was called for unnecessary roughness, putting the ball at Jacksonville’s 45.