Here are some final notes from the Patriots 21-12 victory over San Diego in the AFC championship game.

At 18-0, the Patriots have tied the NFL record for overall victories in a season. Both the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears went 18-1 in winning Super Bowl titles.

The Patriots are making their fourth appearance in the Super Bowl in the last seven seasons and an NFL-high sixth in the last 25 years.

New England is now 11-1 at home in the playoffs, with 11 consecutive wins; 6-1 all-time in AFC championship games; 21-12 all-time in the playoffs.

The victory was the 100th of Tom Brady's career (100-26) and he is 14-2 (.875) in the playoffs, trailing only the great Bart Starr (9-1, .900) in winning percentage.

The victory was Bill Belichick's fourth conference championship as a head coach. Only Don Shula (6) and Tom Landry (5) led their teams to more Super Bowls.

Asante Samuel had a huge interception in the second quarter, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney. He has five career playoff interceptions, second only to Rodney Harrison's seven.

Tedy Bruschi played in his 21st playoff game to set the team record. Jerry Rice holds the NFL record with 29 playoff games.

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