The New England Patriots advanced to their third Super Bowl in four seasons Sunday when they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20 in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots trailed 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, but the legendary quarterback hit Danny Amendola for two touchdowns to break the Jags’ heart and send New England to Super Bowl LII.
There were many points in the game where the Jaguars looked to be close to the knockout blow, but the Patriots fought through a multitude of obstacles to keep their season alive.
FS1’s Colin Cowherd, known Patriots lover, believes New England overcame more than Jacksonville’s physical defense and Brady’s hand injury Sunday, and he detailed the eight things the Pats had to beat in order to head to the eighth Super Bowl of the Belichick-Brady era.
New England’s defensive adjustments and Brady’s greatness carried the day, but it’s important to note the abundance of things the NFL’s greatest dynasty had to defeat to book a date with the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, most importantly the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter.
But no Gronk, no Julian Edelman, no running game and all the distractions around the Patriots couldn’t stop the dynastic tandem of Brady and Belichick from heading back to the Super Bowl.
Or as it should be called — The Tom Brady Invitational.
