Pats Headed To AFC Championship

Tom Brady set another record and thinks he deserves one more award. The dimple-chinned quarterback with the winning smile took the snap -- after faking as if the ball had gone directly to running back Kevin Faulk -- and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass in the New England Patriots' 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night. It was just one of his 26 completions in 28 attempts, an NFL record 92.9 percent for regular-season and playoff games. Tom Brady started the game 16-for-16, a single game postseason record, and finished 26-for-28 to break Phil Simms' record for completion percentage in a playoff game. "I'm looking for my Academy Award on that play," said Brady, already named the MVP and offensive player of the year. "They bit on the run pretty good." Brady caught the snap, jumped with his empty right hand raised high, then shifted the ball from his left hand and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Wes Welker that gave the Patriots a 21-14 lead six minutes into the third quarter. By the time it was over, they had advanced to the AFC championship game for the second straight year and remained perfect at 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl. The old NFL accuracy record was 91.3 percent (21-of-23) set by Vinny Testaverde with Cleveland in 1993. The old playoff record was 88 percent set by Phil Simms in the Super Bowl after the 1986 season. Simms watched Brady best his mark from the broadcast booth. AP