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.
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."
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.
Parcells is only the second coach to take two different teams to the Super Bowl and would be the first to win with different teams.
In Green Bay, Lambeau Field and tradition had beaten second-year Carolina 30-13 in the NFC championship game to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since Lombardi's Packers beat Dallas in the "Ice Bowl" 29 years ago.
The Packers even got coach Mike Holmgren to utter the words "Super Bowl" for the first time this season.
"All of us were dreaming about this game all week. It was like we were being tormented," said Reggie White. "Now we can go home and have pleasant dreams."
This team, now 15-3, will head to New Orleans as the favorite over New England to give the NFC its 13th straight title.