The New England Patriots scored two two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that sends the defending NFL champions to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, Feb. 4. The Patriots will take on the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7, on Sunday night in the NFC Championship Game.
FOXBORO – In keeping with tradition, Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” blared over the sound system at Gillette Stadium following the Patriots’ latest win.
Given the circumstances, the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb” would have been a far more appropriate selection on Sunday.
Playing with a black wrap on his right hand to protect the thumb he injured at practice on Wednesday, Tom Brady threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone to rally the Patriots from a 10-point deficit to a 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium.
New England advances to the Super Bowl on Feb. 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the NFC title on Sunday with a 38-7 trouncing of the Minnesota Vikings. New England and Philadelphia also met for the championship in 2005, when the Patriots took the title with a 24-21 win.
“I’ve never had anything like it,” said Brady. “I’ve had a couple of crazy injuries, but this was pretty crazy. They come up and you just deal with them, and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do on Wednesday, Wednesday night, and then Thursday wasn’t sure. And then Friday gained a little confidence and then Saturday was trying to figure out what we could do and Sunday try to come out here and make it happen.
“We all put a lot out there and this was a little injury at the end of the day. It’s certainly a big part of what a quarterback does. I’ve had a lot worse injuries than this, but if this was on my left hand I (couldn’t) care less, but just based on where it was we had to deal with it.”
Yes, it was merely the latest chapter in the legendary tale of Brady, whose performance was nothing short of heroic.
Right, Coach?
“I mean, look, Tom did a great job and he’s a tough guy. We all know that, all right?” Bill Belichick said after Brady had finished the game 26 for 38 for 290 yards and the two TDs for a passer rating of 108.4. “But we’re not talking about open-heart surgery here.”
Um, OK, then.
How about Danny Amendola?
The clutch-as-they-come wide receiver-punt returner caught five passes for 56 yards and the two TDs, set up his game winner with a 20-yard punt return to the Jacksonville 30 and even completed a pass that went for 20 yards (although that became academic when Dion Lewis turned the ball over at the end of the play on his first fumble of the entire season) – and that was just in the fourth quarter.
Then there was cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the oft-maligned five-year, $65 million offseason free-agent addition, who, with the game on the line, swatted away a deep ball that Blake Bortles intended for wide receiver Dede Westbrook with just under two minutes remaining on what proved to be the Jaguars’ last offensive play of the game.
“Everybody put themselves in the (right) position, and when it came down to it, they made plays,” said defensive end Trey Flowers. He finished the game by tying teammate Kyle Van Noy for the game high in tackles with nine (one for a loss), hit Bortles four times and deflected one of his passes. “It took all the players, every snap, and we made it happen.”
And so the Patriots are on to Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium and a Feb. 4 date with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in pursuit of their sixth world championship in Super Bowl LII.
“It’s very special because we earned it. We earned this,” linebacker Marquis Flowers said. “It’s been a hard and long season, obviously. From Week 1 when we lost our first game (42-27 to Kansas City in Foxboro), everyone was saying the sky is falling, and then we lost to Carolina (33-30 in Week 4) at home. But then we went on a good run (despite) losing players (to injuries) left and right. We all just kept the faith and worked hard. This is what we worked for – for a chance to play in this game right here.”
It’s a script the pro football world has seen a time or few before; the Jaguars were merely the latest victims.
“It’s not easy, especially when you were leading most of the game,” said linebacker Myles Jack, who with seven tackles, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery (he has the strip and steal on Lewis, who hadn’t fumbled all season) positioned himself to be one of the Jaguars’ heroes of the game. “It’s not easy, but you have to give them credit, the Patriots, that’s what they do. They stay in the game and they make plays. They made more plays than us.”
Ultimately, it came down to the final 12:03 of the game.
The Patriots forced a Brad Nortman punt that gave them possession at their own 15 and drove 85 yards in eight plays and 3:19 on a possession that began with an 18-yard completion from Brady to Brandin Cooks (six catches for 100 yards; he also drew two pass interference penalties for 68). But the key play was a 21-yarder to Amendola (seven catches for 84 yards in the game) that converted a third-and-18. A 9-yard toss to Amendola cut the deficit to 20-17 with 8:44 to go.
Forcing Nortman’s third punt of the quarter, Amendola’s 20-yard return gave the Patriots the ball at the Jacksonville 30, setting the stage for a five-play, game-winning drive that concluded with a patient Brady finding him in the back of the end zone with 2:48 to go.
“It was a great win,” Brady said when it was over. “Happy for our team and just a great, great game. So proud of all the guys, coaches, everyone. Amazing.”
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