Tom Brady admits Patriots got major break from referees in 2017 AFC title game win over Jaguars

When looking back over the New England Patriots‘ dynasty, the 2017 AFC Championship game is largely glossed over. Many forget that the Patriots trailed by double digits for a significant portion of that game before rallying to record a 24-20 victory. It’s also largely been forgotten that that game included several controversial calls that went in New England’s favor, a fact that Tom Brady recently shed light on. 

Brady, the former Patriots quarterback, recently alluded to then-Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack’s forced fumble and fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter and Jacksonville holding a 20-10 lead. Jack stripped then-Patriots running back Dion Lewis of the ball and began to race towards the Patriots’ end zone before officials whistled the play dead, stating that Jack had been touched down after scooping the ball up. 

“Oh no, I don’t think he was down,” Brady said on “The Pivot” podcast, via Sports Illustrated. “Oh God, I don’t think we were catching him, either.” 

Had the officials not ruled Jack down, the rest of that game could have played out much differently. If Jack would have managed to score on the play, it’s hard to envision the Patriots coming back from a 27-10 deficit with just over 13 minutes to play. In that scenario, the Jaguars, not the Patriots, would have likely faced the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. 

Instead, the Jaguars’ offense quickly punted after the turnover. The Patriots scored on their ensuing drive and took the lead for good on a Brady touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with under three minutes left. New England then held on to win their eighth AFC title during the Brady/Bill Belichick era. 

Jacksonville, meanwhile, is still in pursuit of its first trip to the Super Bowl.