AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

JACKSONVILLE (11-7) at NEW ENGLAND (12-5)

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Channel 4

* STORYLINE: The New England Patriots have a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1986. And Coach Bill Parcells has a chance to return for the first time since he won Super Bowls with the New York Giants in 1987 and 1991. But blocking his path is a second-year team coached by Tom Coughlin, whose previous job was coaching nearby Boston College and who was on Parcells’ staff with the Giants before that. Coughlin and Parcells are close friends. They talked three times last week. But rest assured, they won’t this week.

* JAGUAR UPDATE: Those who look at Jacksonville and see an expansion team had better look again. They have gone onto the home turf of two veteran teams in the last two weeks--the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos--and knocked off both. And they are not only good, but hot. They have won seven games in a row and are the only AFC club to have gone undefeated since November. Running back Natrone Means has been nearly unstoppable in the playoffs, rushing for 315 yards.

* PATRIOT UPDATE: They have beaten Jacksonville once this season, but had to go into overtime to win, 28-25. And New England is going to have to come up with a new game plan for Mark Brunell. The Jaguar quarterback completed 23 of 39 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the earlier meeting. On the other side of the ball, New England’s offense must be more productive than it was in the previous game. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe was held to 255 passing yards and running back Curtis Martin was held to 95 rushing yards. Martin has to match Means yard-for-yard unless Bledsoe can successfully attack a secondary that largely nullified Jim Kelly and John Elway over the last two weeks.