Soaring in Philly, N.E.
Defending champs head to 7th straight AFC title game
The Eagles hold on to oust the Falcons 15-10; the Patriots roll past the Titans .
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady passed for three touchdowns and 337 yards, and the New England Patriots cruised past the Tennessee Titans 35-14 on Saturday night to advance to their seventh consecutive American Football Conference championship game.
New England (14-3) will host the winner of Sunday’s divisional matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.
It was Brady’s 10th career postseason game with at least three touchdown tosses, moving him past Joe Montana for the most in NFL history. James White caught a touchdown pass and ran for another, and Danny Amendola had 11 catches for 112 yards.
The Titans (10-8) took an early 7-0 lead, but New England scored 35 straight points to take control.
Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 22 of 37 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but was under duress for most of the second half. He was sacked eight times, a Patriots playoff record.
And more milestones for Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski for a 4-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the defending Super Bowl champions a 35-7 lead.
The catch was Gronkowski’s 10th postseason touchdown. He’s tied with five others for third place all time, but it’s the most postseason touchdowns for a tight end.
Gronkowski also moved into second all time for a tight end with 835 postseason receiving yards. He passed Keith Jackson and only Dallas Clark remains ahead of him.