Bortles’ running gives Jaguars surprising boost
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 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 10-3 victory against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wildcard game Sunday.
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.
Bortles was off most of the day, misfiring short and long, but made up for it with 88 yards rushing. He scrambled for a long first down run after fumbling the ball late, prompting a Bills assistant to slam a clipboard and eliciting a huge grin from Bortles.
“We weren’t sharp, we made some bad plays and did some stupid stuff, but we found a way to win and that’s all that matters,” Bortles said.
He completed 12 of 23 passes for 87 yards, with a touchdown. His TD pass to backup tight end Ben Koyack late in the third quarter was his best throw of the game. It also was a gutsy call on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Bortles did the rest on the ground, scrambling for first downs and helping Jacksonville win its first playoff game at home since the 1997 season.
The Bills had plenty of chances down the stretch, but a huge penalty against Charles Clay and then a tackle that knocked quarterback Tyrod Taylor out of the game ended any threat of a comeback.
Taylor slammed his helmet hard against the ground after getting thrown down by Dante Fowler Jr. He had to be helped off the field and forced backup Nathan Peterman into 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.
LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Falcons know they’ll have to win three consecutive road games to get a chance for Super Bowl redemption.
The Falcons already nabbed the first victory by spoiling a festive night in Los Angeles, and they seem quite confident about their chances to run the table in other people’s buildings on the way to Minneapolis.
Matt Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play, and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a 26-13 victory over the upstart Rams on Saturday night.
Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who dropped to the sixth seed in the conference after finishing one game out of first place in the NFC South. Atlanta went only 5-3 on the road in the regular season.
But judging from a comprehensively solid performance against the hungry Rams (11-6), that tough division race and last season’s deep playoff run prepared Atlanta for the grind necessary to win back-to-back NFC titles.
“We don’t care where we play these games, because we know it’s about us, not the crowd or the opponent,” Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen said.
The next place they’re headed is Philadelphia: The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Jan. 13.
Packers promoting Gutekunst to be next GM
MILWAUKEE — The Green Bay Packers are promoting director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst to be the team’s next general manager, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
The person requested anonymity because the team has made no formal announcement. Gutekunst would replace Ted Thompson, who is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office.
Gutekunst has been Green Bay’s player personnel director for nearly two years, though he has been with the Packers’ player personnel department for nearly two decades.