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NFL: Near-perfect Brady downs the Jaguars

New England Patriots wide receiver Donte Stallworth, right, dives through a tackle attempt by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis to reach the first down marker in the last minutes of the fourth quarter of their AFC Divsional playoff at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

Quarterback Tom Brady was almost perfect with his passes and the New England Patriots remained so as they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

Earlier, Brett Favre frolicked in the snow flurries at Lambeau Field with three touchdown passes as the Green Bay Packers overwhelmed the Seattle Seahawks 42-20.

The poised and prolific Brady knocked another mark out of the books in their record-breaking season by completing all but two of his 28 passes to lead the New England Patriots to their second straight AFC championship game by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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.

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 will face the winner of the game between the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, who beat New England in last year's AFC title game.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Nate Burleson, left, fails to catch a pass as he is hit by Green Bay Packers cornerback Al Harris in the fourth quarter of their NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

"The thing about it now is that none of it matters," Brady said. "For 17 games, it all comes down to this and we were here last year. I hope we perform better."

Brady completed 92.6 percent of his passes, breaking Phil Simms' playoffs record of 88 percent (22-of-25) set in the 1987 Super Bowl 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 against double and triple-coverage by the Jaguars.

Brady hit all of the other receivers -- throwing for three touchdowns and 262 yards.

"When they're open like that, it's my job to hit them," he said. "They were open every time, so it's easy to play quarterback."

Jacksonville's defense struggled to stop Brady and crew. New England's defense had no such problems against the Jaguars' one-two rushing punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, the second-most productive duo during the regular season, who combined for just 66 yards.

It was the Patriots who dominated on the ground as Laurence Maroney rushed for 122 yards, including a one-yard touchdown.

Add Brady's on-target passing to these regular-season records -- 50 touchdown passes by Brady, 23 scoring catches by Moss and 589 points by the team -- and Jacksonville became just another team that could not stop the Patriots.

With Lambeau Field looking like a snow globe, Favre led the Green Bay Packers to their highest postseason score against the Seattle Seahawks and to the NFC championship game for the first time in 10 years.

This was exactly the scene Favre imagined when he decided to postpone retirement and try for another Super Bowl ring.

"It does make you appreciate it," the 38-year-old three-time NFL MVP said. "We could be 3-13 next year. Who knows? So enjoy it and try to get the most out of it."

Ryan Grant made history, too, recovering from two fumbles that put the Packers down 14-0 after only four minutes to set a Packers' postseason record with 201 yards rushing. He scored three times. Greg Jennings caught a pair of touchdown tosses and Favre tied his personal best for touchdown strikes in a playoffs game.

His most memorable effort was a crazy toss to Donald Lee that set up another score right before halftime. He somehow spun free from the Seahawks' clutches and stumbled ahead in the snow. Ever the gambler, he flipped a wobbly, underhanded pass that he had no business trying, let alone completing.

"I'm not quite as nimble as I once was," Favre said.

The Packers will take on the winner of the game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. If the Cowboys win, they will host Green Bay, if the Giants win, they will visit Lambeau.

Green Bay beat the Giants this season and lost to the Cowboys. Favre would certainly prefer to stay home -- he's 0-9 lifetime at Dallas.

Coming off their 35-14 win over the Washington Redskins last week in the wild-card round, the Seahawks seemed primed for an upset.

On Green Bay's first play, Grant caught a pass and fumbled. Then on Seattle's first play, Shaun Alexander plunged in from the one.

Grant did not do any better a minute later, when another fumble set up Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's 11-yard touchdown strike to Bobby Engram.

At that point, Green Bay looked lost. But when the snow started to pile, so did the points for the Packers.

It was 14-14 after the first quarter, and Green Bay led 28-17 at halftime.

Favre joined Joe Montana as the lone players to pass for more than 5,000 yards in the postseason. Once Favre started to connect, there was no stopping him. Coach Mike McCarthy won in his first postseason game, leading the NFL's youngest team to the next round.

The Seahawks fell to 0-8 in postseason road games since their only win, in 1983. The losing streak includes a loss in the Super Bowl two years ago.
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