Drew Brees passed for 376 yards and two
touchdowns
T.J.
Hockenson Jersey , and the New Orleans Saints held off Carolina¡¯s late
comeback bid to seal a 31-26 victory in their NFC wild-card game on Sunday.
The Panthers had a first down on the Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds
left, but heavy pressure by All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan a couple plays
later induced an intentional grounding penalty on Carolina quarterback Cam
Newton, making it third-and-25 on the Saints 34 and a required 10-second runoff
left 22 seconds on the clock.
After an incompletion in the end zone on third down, Vonn Bell sacked Newton
on a safety blitz, ensuring the Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings with
Carolina (11-6) this season, in addition to winning their first playoff game in
four seasons.
Brees¡¯ touchdowns went for 80-yards to Ted Ginn and 9 yards to tight end Josh
Hill. Fullback Zach line and running back Alvin Kamara each ran for short
touchdowns, the latter set up by Michael Thomas 46-yard reception.
Thomas caught eight passes for 131 yards on a day when the Saints needed the
passing game to compensate for a ground game that struggled to get going.
JAGUARS
10 Justice Hill
Jersey , BILLS 3
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ¨C Blake Bortles put together one decent drive all
day, doing as much with his legs as his arm, and the defensive-minded
Jacksonville Jaguars eked out an ugly and sometimes unwatchable victory against
the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild-card game.
In the postseason for the first time since January 2008, the third-seeded
Jaguars (11-6) advanced to play at No. 2 seed Pittsburgh next week.
The sixth-seeded Bills (9-8) will head home after ending the longest, current
playoff drought in North American professional sports.
Bortles was a big reason Jacksonville won the game and a big reason it was so
close. He was off most of the day, misfiring short and
long http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/ben-powers-jersey-cheap ,
but made up for it with 88 yards rushing ¨C becoming the second starting
quarterback in the past 25 years to win a playoff game with more rushing yards
than passing (87). Atlanta¡¯s Michael Vick also did it against the St. Louis Rams
in the 2004 playoffs.
Bortles¡¯ TD pass to backup tight end Ben Koyack late in the third quarter was
his best throw of the game, helping Jacksonville win its first playoff game at
home since the 1997 season.
The Bills finished with 263 yards, with 119 of those coming from hobbled
running back LeSean McCoy (ankle). Quarterback Tyrod Taylor left the game after
being thrown to the ground by Dante Fowler Jr. and hitting his head hard. Nathan
Peterman entered the game with 1:27 remaining. All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey
tipped and then intercepted Peterman¡¯s third pass, and the Jaguars ran out the
clock.
¡ª
The Patriots have not played the part of underdog much in their dynasty: This
week marks only the second time they have played the role since 2007. And the
Patriots are loving it.Tom Brady, after saying postgame Sunday that ¡°everyone
thinks we suck and you know, can¡¯t win any games,¡± smiled Wednesday when asked
about the Chiefs being favored.¡°It doesn¡¯t change much for
us Iman
Marshall Jersey , but it just kind of shows what people think our chances
are,¡± the quarterback said, via Zack Cox of NESN. Julian Edelman posted a video
on Twitter showing his feeling about it. The 54-second clip features Chiefs
highlights before ending with Brady¡¯s quote ¡°bet against us.¡± (He also has a
separate tweet linking to his julianedelman.com site, selling T-shirts with the
¡°Bet against us¡± slogan on them.)¡°I think [Brady¡¯s] just trying to get himself
and everyone else fired up,¡± Chiefs pass rusher Justin Houston told reporters
Wednesday, via NFL.com. ¡°But this is,
what http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/trace-mcsorley-jersey-cheap ,
their eighth year in the AFC Championship?¡± The Patriots will play in their 13th
AFC Championship Game since 2001, so the notion that no one picked them, no one
believes in them and everyone is betting against them is laughable.