Tom Brady got all the help he needed to get the New England Patriots into the Super Bowl. Thank you, Billy Cundiff. The Baltimore Ravens kicker shanked a 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left and the Patriots escaped with a 23-20 victory in the AFC championship game on Sunday. Usually, vintage Brady doesn't need much assistance in championship settings, but the Patriots much-maligned defense came through, and Brady's 1-yard touchdown dive with 11:29 left proved to be the winning points. "Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us," Brady said after throwing for 239 yards, with two interceptions and, for the first time in 36 games, no TD passes. Brady waited out the final tense minutes on the sideline, and then celebrated with the rest of his team when Cundiff's attempt went wide left. The Ravens looked on in stunned horror. Cundiff had no excuse. "It's a kick I've kicked probably a thousand times in my career," Cundiff said. I went out there and didn't convert. That's the way things go. Next up as the Patriots chase their fourth Super Bowl trophy in Brady and coach Bill Belichick's tenure in New England is the New York Giants, who beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime Sunday night. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft holds up the championship trophy after their AFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots were installed as 3-point favorites for the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. This time, they head to the Super Bowl with a 10-game winning streak. Before Cundiff missed, the Ravens had a chance to go ahead two plays earlier, but wide receiver Lee Evans was stripped of the ball in the end zone by backup cornerback Sterling Moore, who earlier was victimized for a touchdown that gave Baltimore (13-5) the lead 17-16. On his touchdown, Brady took a huge hit from Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis, then emphatically spiked the ball as he walked away. "It's a pretty mentally tough team," said Brady, whose fifth trip to the Super Bowl will equal John Elway's achievement with Denver. There's really some resiliency. We've shown that all season. Even in the games we've lost, the three games we lost, we fought until the end. We're always going to fight to the end. It's great to be a part of a team like this. Baltimore had the touted defense in this matchup, but New England's unit, ranked 31st overall, was just as powerful. And when the Ravens were threatening to score a late touchdown to win their first conference title in 11 years, New England clamped down.