FOXBORO — There was a moment last week when Tom Brady retreated to the trainer’s room inside Gillette Stadium and wondered if his season was over.
Thanks to the quarterback and his band of resilient teammates, the season will last another two weeks.
Just when you think the 40-year-old quarterback’s legend can’t grow any greater, he engineers another miraculous fourth-quarter comeback with a dozen stitches in his right hand and without his best target.
Brady and the Patriots overcoming adversity has been a season-long theme. But there was a stretch on Sunday when it looked like this would be too difficult to overcome this time.
Iit wasn’t.
Brady orchestrated another fantastic comeback, leading New England to a 24-20 win. He did it without Rob Gronkowski, who left in the first half because of a head injury. And Brady did it with an injured hand.
With their backs against the wall, the Patriots prevailed, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Brady hit Danny Amendola with a game-winning touchdown pass with 2:48 seconds left after trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter.
They'll meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Minnesota in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4.
“We always have confidence, we really do … it’s never really over until it’s over,” Brady said. “I was proud of the way we fought. It’s a mentally tough team. We needed a lot of mental toughness today. We found a way to dig deep and get it done — an offense without one of our very best players.”
At one point last week, Brady actually thought his season might be over. The quarterback reportedly cut his hand when he collided with Rex Burkhead during practice on Wednesday. On that day Brady retreated home and wasn’t sure what the future would be.
On Thursday, nothing had changed. Brady still didn’t know. He gained a little confidence by Friday, but even on Saturday he wasn’t sure if the injury was going to affect him.
“I thought, out of all the plays, my season can’t end on a handoff in practice,” Brady said. “I didn’t come this far to end on a handoff.”
“I know mentally it probably stressed him out a bit and physically I know it’s hard to throw a football with stitches in your thumb,” Amendola said. “Everybody knows how tough he is.”
On Sunday, it was obvious that Brady (26-for-38, 290 yards and two touchdowns) was up to the challenge. He had a black wrap on the hand to protect the stitches. The only problem was that the Patriots found themselves down, 20-10, with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
After Gronkowski exited the game following a head-to-head second-quarter collision with Barry Church, the offensive rhythm was amiss. To make matters worse, Dion Lewis fumbled with 13:53 left in the game, giving Jacksonville the ball back.
It’s a good thing the fans stayed in their seats.
“No doubt. We’ve got [No.] 12 leading the boys,” safety Duron Harmon said. “All we had to do was get the stops. Once we started getting the stops and getting the ball back to our offense and they started moving, we knew eventually we were going to be fine.”
The Patriots defense made the proper adjustments and came up big in the fourth quarter after Lewis’ turnover.
Down 20-10, Brady started the comeback with a rousing touchdown drive. He made multiple big throws, including hitting Amendola for 21 yards on third-and-18. On the next play, he connected with Phillip Dorsett on a flea flicker for a gain of 31. Three plays later, Brady and Amendola connected for a 9-yard touchdown reception.
"We're a confident team. Obviously, we've got Tom. He keeps us going,” Dorsett said. “With him, anything is possible, we feel. We've just got to keep rolling and keep rolling and believe. Believing is the biggest thing.”
With 8:44 left in the game, the Patriots trailed, 20-17. The defense continued to shut down the Jags, giving Brady the ball back with 6:21 left in the game. The offense faltered giving Jacksonville the ball back, but again, the defense held with a three-and-out. This is where Brady received even more help from Amendola, who returned a punt 20 yards to the Jacksonville 30-yard line.
That was all Brady needed. He hit James White for 15 yards and then Amendola again, for a gain of eight. Before you knew it, the Patriots were knocking on the goal line. At 2:56 of the fourth quarter, Brady threw a perfect pass to Amendola in the back of the end zone. The receiver did an outstanding job of getting both feet down for the 4-yard game-winning score.
The defense still needed to hold strong. The Jaguars threatened, but Stephon Gilmore helped close out the game with a pass deflection on fourth down. And just like that, the Patriots are heading to their second Super Bowl in a row and third in four seasons.
“It’s pretty amazing and proud of this team, great leadership and it’s just been a great year,” Brady said. “It’d be really great if we take care of business in a couple of weeks.”