Patriots going back to the Super Bowl on strength of dramatic 24-20 win over Jaguars taken at Gillette Stadium (2017 AFC Championship)

(David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports)

2017 AFC Championship

Patriots going back to the Super Bowl on strength of dramatic 24-20 win over Jaguars

By Christopher Price

Jan 21, 2018 • 12:21 pm

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FOXBOROUGH — It was thumbs up for the Patriots, who advanced to another Super Bowl with a 24-20 win over the Jaguars in Sunday's AFC championship game.

Tom Brady, playing with a black wrap on his right hand after sustaining a thumb injury earlier in the week, finished 26-for-38 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Danny Amendola had seven catches for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Brandin Cooks added six catches for 100 yards.

On the other side of the ball, Blake Bortles was 23-for-36 for 293 yards, while Leonard Fournette had 76 yards and a touchdown in defeat. It was an impressive effort on the part of Jacksonville, but some big letdowns in key moments late paved the way for another appearance on the part of the Patriots.

For the better part of the first quarter-plus, the Patriots were wildly ineffective on both sides of the ball. New England finished its first drive with a field goal, but a swarming and aggressive Jacksonville defense blunted the Pats until the late stages of the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville offense was smart and effective, as Bortles delivered on a series of short-yardage, high-percentage throws to make it a 14-3 game. Mercedes Lewis (4-yard TD reception) and Fournette (4-yard rush) accounted for the scores to put the Jags in control in the second quarter.

However, it appeared things started to turn with just over three minutes left in the half, when the Patriots took over and delivered a super-quick series that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown plunge by James White to make it 14-10 before the break. On that drive, however, Rob Gronkowski took a serious shot to the head, and left the game. He didn’t return, and the Patriots struggled to maintain any sort of offensive rhythm the rest of the way.

The Jaguars added a pair of field goals from Josh Lambo — one in the third and one in the fourth quarter — to make it 20-10. That set the stage for the wild finish, as the Patriots made it 20-17 with just under seven minutes to go with a 9-yard pass to Amendola and 24-20 on a 4-yard connection to Amendola with just under three minutes left in regulation. New England held on down the stretch, with Stephon Gilmore making a great deflection on a fourth-down pass for Dede Westbrook to give the ball back to the Patriots with under two minutes to go.

Pregame and in-game updates...



6:04 p.m.: That first down might do it. 24-20.

6:01 p.m.: Gilmore with the PBU, and the ball goes back to New England.

5:59 p.m.: Two minutes left. Patriots lead, 24-20.

5:53 p.m.: Amendola with the 4-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. 24-20, and the press box is shaking again in Foxborough with 2:48 to go.

5:48 p.m.: Smart play there by Jack after that 8-yard pickup. Slows things down a bit.

5:47 p.m.: Amendola with a really impressive return. 20 yards to get them into range.

5:46 p.m.: Two really good teams swinging on each other right now. Big boy football.

5:44 p.m.: Brady is 23-for-35 for 263 yards and one touchdown.

5:42 p.m.: Good start to the drive, but the Jags stiffen arm and force the punt. It's back on the defense again now.

5:38 p.m.: There's a feeling of "This is why you lift all them weights! This is why you do all that (bleep)!" at this point in the game. Pats have the ball, down three, with 6:21 to go.

5:37 p.m.: Third down chance here again for the defense.

5:35 p.m.: Well, here we go. Pats defense needs a stop. Crowd is in a frenzy. eight minutes to go.

5:33 p.m.: Gillette Stadium crowd singing along to "Living on a Prayer" as Bon Jovi watches from a luxury box.

5:30 p.m.: No Edelman, no Gronkowski. You have to have someone step forward, and it's Amendola. Nine-yard TD pass, and it's 20-17 with 8:44 left in regulation. 44 of the 85 yards on that drive were from Amendola.

5:28 p.m.: Dorsett with a nice grab. 31-yarder. Can't not get seven here.

5:26 p.m.: Cooks makes the catch, now has his first career 100-yard receiving game in the postseason.

5:25 p.m.: Good response by the defense there, but there's little margin for error for New England the rest of the way. The Pats are down by 10 with 12:03 left.

5:20 p.m.: Ball back to Jacksonville.

5:18 p.m.: So we'll see what New York has to say here. That was an interesting play, one that could go either way, to be honest.

5:17 p.m.: Pats need something here ... some sort of spark.

5:16 p.m.: Gronkowski has officially been ruled out.

5:15 p.m.: 43-yard field goal is good. 20-10 Jacksonville with 14:52 to go.

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Biiiiig


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JG: Tommy, how are you today?




JG: Well, you say it does take a lot of work and it did. But unfortunately, this week, you really couldn’t work in practice. What happened with your hand?




JG: When you say a bit of an injury, it’s been widely reported that you were bleeding rather profusely and there were a bunch of stitches. Is that accurate?




JG: Ok, then let’s talk specifically about your ability. Can you grip the ball and do you feel that you can be accurate?




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