Jaguars drop heartbreaker to Patriots in AFC Championship

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Give 'em a hand: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are heading back to the Super Bowl.

Brady shook off a hand injury and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 2:48 remaining , rallying the Patriots to a 24-20 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship Sunday.

Brady, wearing a black bandage on his right hand after hurting it during practice earlier in the week, showed no signs of being hampered.

And, with the game - and possibly the season - on the line, the Patriots star came up big again.

"I've had a lot worse," Brady said. "I didn't know that on Wednesday. It was a crazy injury. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday was a little scary. Then I started getting some confidence and today we did just enough to win."

6 p.m. Game is over. Patriots win the AFC Championship, 24-20, and will play the winner of Vikings-Eagles. 

6 p.m. The Patriots have turned back the Jags' drive with one of the best plays of the game: 

5:53: Brady's third TD of the game gives them the lead for the second time in the game. 
Patriots 24, Jags 20. 

5:44 p.m. The Jags have the ball again at their own 10. Six minutes to go. 

5:31 p.m. Brady has hit Amendola for a touchdown. 20-17, Jags. 

5:17 p.m. Rob Gronkowski is out of the game due to injury. He had only one catch.

5:15 p.m. Josh Lambo's second field goal of the game extends the Jags' lead. 
Jaguars 20, New England 14

5:12 p.m. End of the third quarter. Bortles is 18-for-23 and 225 yards and no INTs. 

4:40 p.m. Josh Lambo field goal. 54 yards. Longest in team postseason history. 
Jaguars 17, New England 14

4:37: Second-half kickoff. The Jags have had the ball for 18 minutes so far and they have the ball yet again. 
Jacksonville 14, New England 10. 

4:25 p.m. Jacksonville will get the ball for the start of the second half. 

4:20 p.m. Touchdown Patriots. The Jags were hit with two key penalties on the drive. 
Jacksonville 14, New England 10. 

3:50 p.m. Another touchdown for the Jags. This time its Fournette. 
Jacksonville 14, New England 3. 

3:37 p.m. Bortles hits Marcedes Lewis with a fade. Touchdown. 
Jacksonville 7, New England 3. 

3:10 p.m. New England's strong drive stalls. Stephen Goskowski hits a 31-year field goal.  
New England 3, Jacksonville 0. 

2:15 p.m.

Tom Brady has come out for warmups -- and he's throwing without a glove. He does have some of the hand covered in tape.

Video: David Garrard breaks down Tom Brady's thumb injury Countdown to Kickoff

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It's come down to this. Only one game separates the Jacksonville Jaguars from a trip to their first-ever Super Bowl.

The Jaguars (12-6) visit the New England Patriots (14-3), and for the second Playoffs game in a row, the Jags enter as heavy underdogs. The Patriots are favored by slightly more than one touchdown.

The kickoff will be at 3 p.m. ONLY on CBS47. PHOTOS: Jaguars fans take over Boston

Fans told Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn that they were surprised at the number of Jags fans who made their way to Foxborough for the game.

Tom Brady, who has led the Patriots to five Super Bowl titles, is listed as questionable with a hand injury but is expected to start.

Brady's hand injury was the biggest subplot leading to the game. Brady even wore gloves on each hand during Friday's media availability.

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