FOXBORO -- They fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter. They were trailing by 10, 20-10, early in the fourth quarter. A 10th AFC championship and a 10th trip to the Super Bowl seemed . . . what? Out of reach?
Not to anyone who's watched the New England Patriots over the last 17 years, it didn't.
PATRIOTS 24, JAGUARS 20
Tom Brady, playing despite what he described as "a pretty good cut" on his right hand, rallied the Patriots yet again from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. He threw a pair of touchdown passes to Danny Amendola, the last with 2:48 left, and lifted the Patriots to a 24-20 victory over Jacksonville that punched their ticket to Super Bowl 52.
"Well, I said, 'We'll see,' " Brady told the crowd, referring to terse comments he'd made at his press conference Friday when asked if the injury would affect him. "So how'd it go?"
Like it usually does for Brady and the Patriots.
New England Patriots
The quarterback, playing with black tape covering the cut, completed 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and the two touchdowns as he led the Pats to a come-from-begind victory . . . same as he did in Super Bowl 51 against Atlanta, Super Bowl 49 against Seattle, the 2014 AFC Division Round against Baltimore, the 2006 Divisional Round against San Diego, Super Bowl 38 against Carolina and the 2001 Divisional Round against Oakland.
In tribute, the Gillette stadium crew blared the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" over the P.A. system as he left the podium and headed to the locker room.
With Minneapolis the next stop.