Pats Win AFC, Head to Super Bowl

FOXBORO, Mass.--Out of the fog, then out of the dark, the New England Patriots have found their way to the Super Bowl.

Shrugging off an 11-minute power failure at Foxboro Stadium, the Patriots won the AFC Championship 20-6 last night, making the Jacksonville Jaguars look like the second-year team they are.

New England did it with defense, coming up with three turnovers in the final four minutes to halt Jacksonville's attempt at a comeback.

Willie Clay intercepted a pass in the end zone with 3:43 to go after the Jaguars finally got moving. Then Otis Smith grabbed a fumble and went 47 yards for the clinching touchdown with 2:24 remaining. Tedy Bruschi picked off another pass with 1:52 to go.

A week ago, the Patriots played through a heavy fog to rout the Pittsburgh Steelers. In two weeks, they get a chance to snap the AFC's 12-year losing streak in the Super Bowl when they face the Green Bay Packers in New Orleans.

"I'm just very excited for the opportunity," said coach Bill Parcells, who gets a shot at a third NFL title. "These players have given me everything."

The Packers, 30-13 winners over Carolina in the NFC title game and 13-point favorites for the Super Bowl, can't be too intimidated about that prospect, because the Patriots were nearly as inconsistent on offense as the Jaguars. But New England's defense, which has allowed one touchdown in the last four games, was superb.

"We just had to be poised and patient," said Smith, signed during the season after being cut by the New York Jets. "The plays started coming to us in the fourth quarter."

The Patriots kept constant pressure on Mark Brunell. The Jacksonville quarterback led the league in yards passing this season, but he rarely had time to set up and look downfield.

When the Jaguars tried to run, Natrone Means usually found nothing but blue jerseys in his way.

And when Brunell guided the Jaguars 58 yards to the Patriots 5 late in the game, Clay stepped in front of Derek Brown in the end zone for the big interception.

The Jaguars got the ball back at their 42 with 2:36 remaining, but Otis Smith came up with a fumble from James Stewart and went 47 yards for the clinching touchdown.

For further defensive emphasis, there was Bruschi's interception.

"The things that have not plagued us hurt us today," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said of the turnovers.

It was the first conference crown for New England since 1985, when the Patriots went on to lose 46-10 to Chicago in the Super Bowl.

New England's scoring came on Curtis Martin's 1-yard run after an aborted Jacksonville punt, and field goals by rookie Adam Vinatieri of 29 and 20 yards.

It wasn't much, but the defense, ranked 19th in the NFL and 28th against the pass, made sure it was enough. It held Means to 43 yards rushing--he had 315 in the previous two playoff games--and limited Brunell to 190 yards while intercepting two passes.

Mike Hollis made field goals of 32 and 28 yards for Jacksonville, which won its final five games just to make the playoffs, then stunned the Bills in Buffalo and the Broncos in Denver.

But the Jaguars will be going home, just like their expansion cousins, the Panthers.

And Parcells, 3-0 in conference title games, gets to improve his 2-0 record in Super Bowls; he won as coach of the New York Giants after the 1986 and 1990 seasons--the latter with Coughlin as his receivers coach.

Parcells joins Don Shula as the only coaches to take two different teams to the Super Bowl, and he would be the first to win with different teams.

At the end of the game, Parcells and Coughlin hugged warmly as Patriots players held their helmets in the air, saluting the crowd of 60,190 that braved a zero-degree wind-chill factor to attend the first AFC Championship game at the stadium. Fireworks were set off outside the stadium, and the players gathered in a circle around Parcells and owner Bob Kraft while the conference championship trophy was presented.

A botched punt by Bryan Barker set up New England's early score. Barker took a high snap, then hesitated before trying to run from deep in Jacksonville territory. He was tackled by Larry Whigham at the 4.

Two plays later, Curtis Martin scored from the 1, the 15th straight home game he's gotten a touchdown.

The Patriots were moving again when Drew Bledsoe's pass was tipped by linebacker Tom McManus and picked off by rookie Aaron Beasley at the Jacksonville 24. The visitors converted that into Hollis' 32-yard field goal, making it 7-3.

Another error on special teams cost Jacksonville three more points. Chris Hudson fumbled a return and Mike Bartrum recovered at the Jaguars 19. Vinatieri kicked a 29-yard field goal after the delay when the lights went out, a power outage caused by a blown transformer.

Jacksonville still seemed to be in the dark in the final moments of the half. The Patriots converted a fourth-and-3 at the Jaguars 45 on a 5-yard pass to Ben Coates.

And with just 15 seconds to go and no timeouts, Bledsoe found a wide-open Shawn Jefferson down the left sideline for 38 yards to the 3. Vinatieri made a 20-yarder for a 13-3 halftime lead.

Vinatieri, who had five field goals in a 28-25 overtime win over Jacksonville on Sept. 22, also was wide left from 46 yards with 8:42 remaining

"The things that have not plagued us hurt us today," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said of the turnovers.

It was the first conference crown for New England since 1985, when the Patriots went on to lose 46-10 to Chicago in the Super Bowl.

New England's scoring came on Curtis Martin's 1-yard run after an aborted Jacksonville punt, and field goals by rookie Adam Vinatieri of 29 and 20 yards.

It wasn't much, but the defense, ranked 19th in the NFL and 28th against the pass, made sure it was enough. It held Means to 43 yards rushing--he had 315 in the previous two playoff games--and limited Brunell to 190 yards while intercepting two passes.

Mike Hollis made field goals of 32 and 28 yards for Jacksonville, which won its final five games just to make the playoffs, then stunned the Bills in Buffalo and the Broncos in Denver.

But the Jaguars will be going home, just like their expansion cousins, the Panthers.

And Parcells, 3-0 in conference title games, gets to improve his 2-0 record in Super Bowls; he won as coach of the New York Giants after the 1986 and 1990 seasons--the latter with Coughlin as his receivers coach.

Parcells joins Don Shula as the only coaches to take two different teams to the Super Bowl, and he would be the first to win with different teams.

At the end of the game, Parcells and Coughlin hugged warmly as Patriots players held their helmets in the air, saluting the crowd of 60,190 that braved a zero-degree wind-chill factor to attend the first AFC Championship game at the stadium. Fireworks were set off outside the stadium, and the players gathered in a circle around Parcells and owner Bob Kraft while the conference championship trophy was presented.

A botched punt by Bryan Barker set up New England's early score. Barker took a high snap, then hesitated before trying to run from deep in Jacksonville territory. He was tackled by Larry Whigham at the 4.

Two plays later, Curtis Martin scored from the 1, the 15th straight home game he's gotten a touchdown.

The Patriots were moving again when Drew Bledsoe's pass was tipped by linebacker Tom McManus and picked off by rookie Aaron Beasley at the Jacksonville 24. The visitors converted that into Hollis' 32-yard field goal, making it 7-3.

Another error on special teams cost Jacksonville three more points. Chris Hudson fumbled a return and Mike Bartrum recovered at the Jaguars 19. Vinatieri kicked a 29-yard field goal after the delay when the lights went out, a power outage caused by a blown transformer.

Jacksonville still seemed to be in the dark in the final moments of the half. The Patriots converted a fourth-and-3 at the Jaguars 45 on a 5-yard pass to Ben Coates.

And with just 15 seconds to go and no timeouts, Bledsoe found a wide-open Shawn Jefferson down the left sideline for 38 yards to the 3. Vinatieri made a 20-yarder for a 13-3 halftime lead.

Vinatieri, who had five field goals in a 28-25 overtime win over Jacksonville on Sept. 22, also was wide left from 46 yards with 8:42 remaining