The most watched right hand in the United States of America will be under the microscope Sunday afternoon in the AFC Championship Game.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been front and center in the national media after he collided with running back Rex Burkhead during Wednesday's practice, as NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Good Morning Football.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars aren't dealing with a ton of injury issues, with safety Tashaun Gipson being the only concern going into the matchup at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Leyden of WFXT in Boston provided us with a look at both teams' injury reports, with Brady and Gipson headlining.
Brady Will Be Fine Despite Injury, Throw for 300 Yards
Brady's right hand will be a moot point by the time the AFC Championship concludes.
The legendary quarterback would only miss the AFC Championship if he couldn't walk—and even then, he still might try to play.
The 40-year-old, who is one of the NFL's ultimate competitors, has thrown for 9,431 passing yards in 35 postseason games, and he has 66 touchdowns with 31 interceptions.
In eight of his past nine playoff games, Brady has thrown for at least two touchdowns, and he's reached the 300-yard barrier on seven occasions in that span.
The quarterback, who is coming off a 337-yard game through the air in the divisional round against the Tennessee Titans, has also achieved recent success in the AFC Championship, as he's thrown for over 300 yards in his past two conference title games.
With everyone paying attention to him and the Jaguars defense coming in possibly too confident, Brady will silence everyone with a fantastic performance in the pocket that will lead him to his second straight Super Bowl.
Jacksonville's Defense Will Have an Impact Only in the 1st Half
You have to give the Jaguars credit since they are going to Gillette Stadium with no shortage of confidence, especially defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
Ramsey took notice of the Patriots' praise for the Jaguars' talent throughout the week preceding the game, but he said the kind words won't "gas" the team up because they're already pumped, per NFL Network's Steve Wyche.
Although some may think Brady will carve up their secondary from the start, the Jaguars will hold their own against the future Hall of Fame signal-caller for the first 30 minutes.
Defensive back A.J. Bouye, linebacker Myles Jack and Ramsey will be able to contain the aerial threat of the Patriots, highlighted by tight one-on-one coverage of tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola.
However, the adjustments by the New England coaching staff at halftime will be too much for the Jaguars to handle.
Expect Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to work together to find the weaknesses in the Jacksonville coverage and exploit them with Gronkowski before Brady opens up the passing game, starting in the middle of the third quarter.
Prediction: Patriots 34, Jaguars 16
New England will take a few drives to get going on offense because of the high level of talent on the Jacksonville defense, but the Pats' experience will rise above everything else.
Look for Brady and Gronkowski to combine on plenty of occasions while the Patriots are breaking free from the Jaguars, who will struggle to find a pulse on offense as the hosts stifle running back Leonard Fournette and force quarterback Blake Bortles to make all the big plays.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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