Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was a huge factor in his side's win over Minnesota. Photo / Getty
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was a huge factor in his side's win over Minnesota. Photo / Getty
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has done it again.
He led the charge as his side overcame a 28-3 deficit to win last year's Super Bowl, and on Monday (NZ time), he was pulling the strings as the Patriots overcame a late 10-point gap to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and earn the chance to defend their title.
The 40-year-old five-time Super Bowl champion only continued to his claim as the NFL's best-ever quarterback after finding his side behind 20-10 heading into the final period of the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship in Foxborough.
His opposite, Blake Bortles, had one of the best passing games of his career to that point, successfully navigating the Patriots defence to lead the Jaguars on three touchdown (TD) drives.
Bortles threw for 293 yards in the match with one passing TD while Jacksonville rookie running back Leonard Fournette ran for 76 yards, but their performance wasn't enough to cause a massive upset.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Brady had been well contained by the Jaguars defence and was yet to throw for a TD - with the Patriots only having crossed the plane via a James White rush.
The Patriots were also without tight end (TE) Rob Gronkowski for the second half, after he was held out after a helmet-to-helmet collision.
Gronkowski was kept out of the remainer of the game due to concussion symptoms, but not before setting a new record for most postseason receiving yards by a TE in NFL history - with a 21-yard pass from Brady taking him past ex-Indianapolis Colts TE Dallas Clark's 847 to 856.
But opportunity makes the man, and Brady twice linked up with wide receiver Danny Amendola in the end zone during the final stanza to turn the 10-point deficit into a four point victory.
Chris Hogan (right) and Danny Amendola celebrate a New England Patriots touchdown. Photo / Getty Images.
The Patriots, who were whistled for just one penalty in the match, will now meet the No 1 seed Philadephia Eagles who stormed into the Super Bowl despite being without first-choice quarterback Carson Wentz for the back end of the season.
Wentz tore his ACL with three games left in the regular season, and many gave up hope in the Eagles' chances of a title berth.
How bout that Eagles Nation?! Super Bowl here we come!!!! #FlyEaglesFly
However, back-up Nick Foles handled the side well enough to get them to the National Football Conference Championship match against the Minnesota Vikings, then stepped up in a big way to lead his side into the Super Bowl.
Foles threw for over 300 yards with three TD passes as the Vikings had no answer of the Eagles' offence, with the Philadelphia side cruising to a 38-7 win.
The Vikings were the first on the board, with TE Kane Rudolph pulling down a 25-yard pass for the first TD of the game.
With the scores locked at 7-7 after the first quarter, a 17-point second gave the Eagles a healthy lead at half-time. They wouldn't give the Vikings a chance to get back into the game, scoring TDs in both of the last quarters to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The sides will have a week off now before meeting in Minnesota on February 5 (NZ time) to compete in Super Bowl LII.
