FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady was almost perfect. The Patriots still are.
Their poised and prolific quarterback knocked another mark out of the books in their record-breaking season, completing all but two of his 28 passes to lead New England to its second straight AFC championship game with a 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.
The Patriots pulled away in the second half to improve to 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl.
Two more wins and the Patriots will join them — much to the chagrin of some of those Dolphins.
Just one more win next Sunday at Gillette Stadium will put the Patriots back in the Super Bowl for the first time in three years after three championships in the previous four years. They’ll face the winner of Sunday’s game between San Diego and Indianapolis, which beat New England in last year’s AFC title game.
“We’re definitely going to enjoy it,” defensive end Richard Seymour said. “Winning is always the most important thing at this time of the year.”
Brady completed 92.9 percent of his passes, breaking Phil Simms record of 88 percent (22-of-25) set in the Super Bowl after the 1986 season in which he led the New York Giants to a 39-20 win over the Denver Broncos.
And Brady did it mostly without Randy Moss, who had only one catch.
He hit all the other receivers — throwing for three touchdowns and 262 yards.
“Tom is terrific,” Seymour said. “He’s a great leader and he does all the little things.”
New England’s defense had no problems against the Jaguars’ one-two rushing punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. The league’s second-most productive duo during the regular season combined for just 66 yards.
Patriots 31, Patriots 20
Jacksonville7733—20
New England77143—31
First Quarter
Jac—M.Jones 8 pass from Garrard (Scobee kick), 10:50.
NE—Watson 3 pass from T.Brady (Gostkowski kick), 5:01.
Second Quarter
NE—Maroney 1 run (Gostkowski kick), 14:57.
Jac—Wilford 6 pass from Garrard (Scobee kick), 7:46.
Third Quarter
NE—Welker 6 pass from T.Brady (Gostkowski kick), 8:49.
Jac—FG Scobee 39, 4:04.
NE—Watson 9 pass from T.Brady (Gostkowski kick), :49.
Fourth Quarter
Jac—FG Scobee 25, 9:44.
NE—FG Gostkowski 35, 6:39.
A—68,756.
JacNE
First downs2224
Total Net Yards350403
Rushes-yards22-8029-145
Passing270258
Punt Returns0-01-14
Kickoff Returns5-635-91
Interceptions Ret.0-01-10
Comp-Att-Int22-33-126-28-0
Sacked-Yards Lost1-81-4
Punts1-50.01-30.0
Fumbles-Lost2-10-0
Penalties-Yards5-426-74
Time of Possession27:4032:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Jacksonville, Taylor 13-47, Jones-Drew 6-19, Garrard 3-14. New England, Maroney 22-122, Welker 1-13, Faulk 4-9, T.Brady 2-1.
PASSING—Jacksonville, Garrard 22-33-1-278. New England, T.Brady 26-28-0-262.
RECEIVING—Jacksonville, Jones-Drew 6-49, Lewis 4-74, Northcutt 4-42, M.Jones 3-48, Wilford 2-21, R.Williams 1-25, G.Jones 1-12, Smolko 1-7. New England, Welker 9-54, Faulk 5-36, Stallworth 3-68, Gaffney 3-26, Maroney 2-40, Watson 2-12, Moss 1-14, K.Brady 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOAL—New England, Gostkowski 35 (WR).
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