Tom Brady is playing vs. Jaguars in the AFC Championship and no one is surprised

Tom Brady's hand injury has been the topic of discussion all week — especially because Brady and the Patriots didn’t offer many details about its severity. But as expected, the injury will not keep Brady from suiting up against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

What happened? During the Patriots' Wednesday practice, Brady injured his right hand after bumping into teammate Rex Burkhead. Brady reportedly had stitches due to a cut on his right thumb.

Brady sat out Thursday’s practice but returned Friday. He was a limited participant and wore a glove on his hands — both at practice and afterward, during a media session where he played it coy:

Gloves still on both hands for Brady. Says he’s not talking about how his right hand is feeling or whether he threw passes today.
How confident is he that he’ll play Sunday? “We’ll see.” pic.twitter.com/V4voXES7Lu
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) January 19, 2018

The Patriots officially listed Brady as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, but no one really expected him to miss such a pivotal game. Earlier this season, the 40-year-old Brady suffered Achilles tendon and shoulder injuries. He popped up on the Patriots' injury report at times, but he was able to brush those injuries to the side and play. He'll do the same with this hand injury on Sunday.

Why is this important? Simply put, New England would hardly stand a chance without Brady against this physical Jacksonville defense.

Even though backup quarterback Brian Hoyer knows the offense well, he doesn't possess the same throwing accuracy or playoff experience as Brady. Hoyer’s last postseason appearance came two years ago when he was with the Texans, and it was one of the worst playoff performances ever. Hoyer completed just 44 percent of his passes for 136 yards with a whopping four interceptions and zero interceptions. The Chiefs routed the Texans, 30-0.

The Patriots and Brady are both looking for Super Bowl win No. 6. To get there, they first need Brady to have a light-outs performance against Jacksonville's first-ranked pass defense. If Brady’s hand injury affects his throwing at all, that could be a problem.

However, the Jaguars allowed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw for 469 yards and five touchdowns last week. Even if Brady isn’t 100 percent, the Patriots have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL — but there's almost no way they could win this game without No. 12.

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