Jags pull off miracle rally
Trevor Lawrence followed four interceptions with four touchdown passes — one of the most improbable turnarounds in NFL postseason history — and rallied the Jaguars to a 31-30 victory over the Chargers on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida.
Lawrence engineered the winning drive, highlighted by Travis Etienne’s 25-yard run on fourth-and-one, and put the Jaguars in position for Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal on the final play. It capped a 27-point comeback, the third-largest in playoff history.
Patterson’s kick barely stayed inside the right upright and set off a raucous celebration for a franchise that had won just four games the previous two years. The Jaguars won their sixth straight and fifth straight at home — all five in comeback fashion.
This one was mostly a credit to Lawrence. He went 28-for-47 passes for 288 yards, a shocker considering he the way he started.
Lawrence was downright dreadful to begin the team’s first playoff game since losing in the 2017 AFC title game. He became the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw four interceptions in the first half of a playoff game, joining the Lions’ Gary Danielson and Broncos’ Craig Morton.
The Jaguars became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win a playoff game with a turnover differential of minus-5 or worse. Teams with that margin had been 0-19.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 273 yards and a touchdown, but the offense was largely ineffective after taking a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
49ers 41, Seahawks 23
Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score in his playoff debut, leading San Francisco over Seattle in a wild-card game in Santa Clara, California
Purdy picked up where he left off in the regular season for the 49ers and showed few signs of playoff jitters by winning his sixth consecutive start since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in a Week 13 win over the Dolphins.
The Niners advanced to the divisional round, where they will host the Vikings, Buccaneers or Cowboys next weekend.
Purdy connected on a three-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey in the first quarter, converted a one-yard sneak in the third quarter and had a seven-yard TD pass to Elijah Mitchell early in the fourth to make it 31-17.
The Niners broke it open when Deebo Samuel took a short pass from Purdy and raced in for a 74-yard score.
Purdy threw for 332 yards — the secondmost for a rookie in the playoffs — and he became the first rookie quarterback to account for four touchdowns in a playoff game.
Hamlin visits Bills teammates
Damar Hamlin visited with teammates at the Bills’ facility in Orchard Park, New York, for the first time since being discharged from a Buffalo hospital, 12 days after the safety went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field.
NFL fines Walker $13,261 for shove
Packers linebacker Quay Walker reportedly was fined $13,261 by the NFL for the shove of a Lions trainer that led to his ejection from a 20-16 loss to the Lions.