Former Patriots Describe Tom Brady's Injury Before 2017 Title Game

Andrews noted that it was rare for Brady to be handing the ball off in these run periods, as the backup Hoyer would typically be tasked with that. As Brady's yelling on the practice field, Hoyer recalled what he say.

"There's blood everywhere," Hoyer said. "(Patriots trainer) Jim Whalen is putting a towel on it. I'll never forget (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) was like, 'I think I saw the bone sticking out!'

Twenty five stitches later and Brady would be running out to practice wearing two gloves, something he told Hoyer to do as well. It drew obvious attention when Brady came up to the podium to do his weekly press conference, and it drew more attention once his center had to speak on his behalf.

"I was rattled because this was my first year being a captain, which meant every Friday I had to do a press conference," Andrews said. "Who knows the quarterback's hands better than the center? That would be me. I had done media, obviously, but never like the real press conference. And I am getting hounded with questions and I'm -- I don't know if I could find the interviews, I would love to see what my answers are because I was probably rattled up there and trying not to give away information."

Brady ended up playing, but up until three hours before kickoff, Hoyer was preparing to start the AFC title game. He would have fit in across the NFL landscape at that time, as the Philadelphia Eagles eventually won the Super Bowl being led by backup quarterback Nick Foles.

But in typically Brady fashion, he didn't miss the game.

"I said, 'There's no way this dude is going to play,'" Hoyer said. "And I'll never forget Tom looked at me and he's like, "Look, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I can play this week.' And I was like, 'Oh, boy.'"

Brady went 26-of-38 for 290 yards and threw two fourth quarter touchdowns en route to the comeback victory over one of the best defenses the league has seen in the last decade. The Jaguars weren't able to stop Brady when it mattered, and by the end of the night, Brady's injured hand was on display as he wore an AFC Championship shirt.

"He was a warrior to be able to do what he did and then play the way he did," Hoyer said. "He's as tough as they come. And like I said, up until about three hours before the game, I thought I was going to play."