Patriots Advance to Super Bowl Again
Tom Brady threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter as the New England Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20. New England advances to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season, the eighth time in the Brady/Belichick era, and the tenth time in franchise history.
Jacksonville had a fourth-and-15 on New England's 43 with 1:53 remaining and Blake Bortles threw a pass intended for Dede Westbrook down the field and Stephon Gillmore batted it away. On a third-and-9 at their own 44, Dion Lewis rushed for 18 yards and picked up the first down to officially seal it. Lewis rushed for 34 yards on nine carries and caught seven passes for 32 yards receiving.
With Jacksonville trailing 3-0 in the second, Marcedes Lewis caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bortles. Bortles completed 23-of-36 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. Leonard Fournette scored on a 4-yard touchdown run later in the second quarter. Fournette finished with 76 yards rushing on 24 carries and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 13 yards receiving. Allen Hurns was the Jaguars leading receiver with six receptions for 80 yards.
Right before halftime, James White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the Patriots. White only rushed for four yards in three carries and a touchdown, but he caught three passes for 22 yards receiving. On that drive, A.J. Bouye was called for a questionable pass interference call on Brandin Cooks (6 receptions 100 yards). Barry Church also hit Rob Gronkowski in the head and Church was penalized. Gronkowski left the game with a head injury and he did not return. He only caught one pass for 21 yards receiving.
Josh Lambo made two field goals in the second half for Jacksonville (54 and 43 yards). Jacksonville led 20-10 with 14:56 remaining in regulation. On a third-and-18 for the Patriots at their own 25 with 10:49 remaining, Brady completed a pass to Danny Amendola for 21 yards and it eventually led to a Brady 9-yard touchdown pass to Amendola with under nine minutes remaining.
Brady was great once again when called upon. He completed 26-of-38 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Amendola caught seven passes for 84 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He also had a rush for three yards and completed a pass for 20 yards.
The Jaguars season concludes and the Patriots will head to Minnesota for Super Bowl LII. They will either face the Minnesota Vikings or the Philadelphia Eagles on February 4. The Patriots are looking to repeat for the first time since they did it themselves back in 2004 and 2005.
