To probably no one’s surprise, the New England Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday 24-21. And since the game’s in chilly Minnesota (though at indoor US Bank Stadium), quarterback Tom Brady better pack his enormous coat.
The AFC championship game played on Sunday saw the return of Brady’s infamous gigantic puffy jacket, though at first fans thought it might not show up.
Tom Brady’s ridiculously huge coat! Drink 2!
— MedicatedWorldPeace (@MedicatedWP) January 21, 2018
Tom Brady’s really big, puffy coat = my Sunday aesthetic
— Carly Fortunato (@carlynato) January 21, 2018
Tom Brady took off that coat like Bane before be broke Batman’s back. This game over for the Jaguars
— Thomas Shelby (@KinggChip) January 21, 2018
Sunday’s two NFL conference championship games feature three no-name quarterbacks and Brady (and I say this as a lifelong fan of one of the no-name quarterback teams).
Blake Bortles. Nick Foles. Case Keenum. And then there’s Brady, with his seven Super Bowl appearances and five wins.
There was a sense that perhaps most of the country was rooting for the underdog Jags.
Except maybe the refs.
From the second Brady jogged out onto the field and told a camera operator to get “f@#! out the way,” fans were watching him closely.
Brady’s injured hand was the topic of much concern, though really, it looked just fine.
Some additional context/information: On Tom Brady, he required more than 10 stitches after sustaining a cut on the inside part of his right throwing hand near the thumb Wednesday, per source. Those at practice described a bloody scene.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 21, 2018
REPORT: In case Tom Brady is at all limited by his hand injury this weekend, the Patriots plan to have extra refs on hand just to make sure the team continues to perform like normal
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) January 18, 2018
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles played a solid first half, but fans were all about his alliterative name.
Blake Bortles sounds like the name of a YouTuber forced to apologize for doing the Harlem Shake in the Vatican
— Jeremy Gordon (@jeremypgordon) January 14, 2018
You guys make fun of Blake Bortles for having a dumb name, but this singer’s name is Phillip Phillps.
— Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) January 21, 2018
As for the game itself, the Jaguars looked for a while as if they could dethrone the Pats, but then reality — and Brady — set in.
Tom Brady is your favorite quarterback’s favorite quarterback.
— sean. (@Seantaneous) January 21, 2018
Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 60 minutes and at the end, the Patriots always win.
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) January 21, 2018
But not everyone was on board with the Patriots’ constant success.
When you think of all the adversity the Patriots overcame this year – a mildly critical article – hard not to feel good for them here.
— Gourmet Spud (@gourmetspud) January 21, 2018
And it was at that exact moment that we all became NFC fans
— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) January 21, 2018
Super Bowl LII will be played Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.
First published Jan. 21, 1:53 p.m. PT.
Update, 3:07 p.m.: Adds updated memes at halftime.
