The Jacksonville Jaguars may be big underdogs Sunday when they take the field at Gillette Stadium to play in the AFC Championship Game, but they are not afraid of their assignment.

The Jaguars were supposed to get blown away by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff game, yet the Jaguars built a 28-7 lead and hung on to pin a 45-42 defeat on Pittsburgh.

Now, they have to find a way to beat Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions. The Patriots are playing in their seventh consecutive AFC title game. They have lost three of them, but only one of those losses came at home (in 2012 to the Baltimore Ravens).

Brady, of course, is the Patriots' headliner, and he is coming off a sensational season in which he threw for 4,577 yards and had a 32-8 TD-interception ratio.

One of the reasons the Patriots are so difficult to contain is their versatile attack. They can run the ball with Dion Lewis, and he gets some assistance from Mike Gillislee and James White.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski is the best big-play maker at his position, and he makes a habit of catching difficult passes in pressure situations. He also has the ability to demoralize opponents because he can make the catch even when he is covered tightly.

Brandin Cooks has the speed to make big plays downfield, while Danny Amendola knows how to get open and will hang onto the ball when he goes over the middle.

The Jaguars have a sensational defense, ranking second this year to the Minnesota Vikings in yardage allowed. Calais Campbell provides a tremendous pass rush with 14.5 sacks, and Yannick Ngakoue has 12.0 sacks. Those two are going to have to be at their best if they are going to slow down the New England offense.

Star cornerback Jalen Ramsey expressed his confidence in a homecoming rally at EverBank Field, promising that the Jaguars would be going to the Super Bowl (note: contains language NSFW).

Blake Bortles can't stand up to any comparison to Brady, but he is a much better quarterback this year than he has been in the past. He struggled in the wild-card win over the Buffalo Bills, but he was much sharper against the Steelers.

Bortles completed 14 of 26 passes in the win over the Steelers and threw for 214 yards and one touchdown. He did not throw an interception against Pittsburgh.

The key to Jacksonville's offense may be the Jaguars' ability to run the ball. Leonard Fournette bulled the ball into the end zone three times against Pittsburgh, and he won't back off here. 

The Patriots are 9.5-point favorites over the Jaguars, according to OddsShark.

Conference Championship Games

Sunday, January 21

AFC Championship Game

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots: 3:05 p.m. ET, CBS, CBS All Access 

NFC Championship Game

Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles: 6:40 p.m. ET, Fox, Fox Sports Go

The Minnesota Vikings will try to follow up on their "Skol Viking" miracle play that allowed them to beat the the New Orleans Saints 29-24 in the divisional playoffs.

Quarterback Case Keenum hit wideout Stefon Diggs with a 61-yard TD catch on the final play of the game.

Diggs caught the ball near the sidelines, and he possibly could have stepped out of bounds and set placekicker Kai Forbath with a game-winning field-goal attempt. However, when New Orleans rookie cornerback Marcus Williams failed to lay a hand on Diggs on his attempted tackle, the Minnesota wide receiver sped into the end zone for the game-winning score.

Keenum and the Vikings appear to have an edge on Nick Foles and the Eagles when it comes to offensive play. Foles struggled badly in the final two regular-season games of the season against the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys, but he was much better in the 15-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional playoffs.

Foles completed 23 of 30 passes for 246 yards, and while he did not throw a touchdown pass, he also kept it clean on the interception side of the ledger. 

If Foles can respond with a similar game against Minnesota's top-ranked defense, this could be a tight game that comes down to the final possession.

The Vikings are favored by 3.5 points.