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NFL divisional playoffs: Steelers strike back against Jags with Antonio Brown and this game is bonkers


Le’Veon Bell hauls in a touchdown pass. (Philip G. Pavely / USA Today)

Top story lines | NFL headlines
Injury news | Divisional-playoff picks / Super Bowl odds

The first half qualified as a certifiable nightmare scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers as the Jacksonville Jaguars scored four touchdowns for a lead that subdued Heinz Field fans.

But, by the end of the half, what looked like it might be a blowout was suddenly a very fun game, with the Steelers closing within 28-14 and driving for a touchdown on the first series of the second half. Ben Roethlisberger’s 19-yard touchdown pass to running back Le’Veon Bell closed the gap to 28-21, in what has been a wildly entertaining affair.

Here’s how we got here: There were two first-quarter TDs that came courtesy of Leonard Fournette.

The second came after Myles Jack nicely hauled in an intercepted Roethlisberger pass.

And the second quarter offered a third rushing touchdown, with T.J. Yeldon scoring this time.

The Steelers did manage to get on the board with an Antonio Brown touchdown catch midway through the second quarter.

But Jacksonville quickly answered, with Yannick Ngakoue punching the ball from Roethlisberger’s grasp and Telvin Smith returned the fumble 50 yards for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead.

Roethlisberger came up big as the half was ending, hitting Martavis Bennett on a 36-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play.

Just when it seemed the Steelers were closing in on the comeback, Bortles unleashed a spectacular 45-yard pass to Keelan Cole, setting up a 3-yard touchdown plunge by Fournette on the following play to put the lead back to 14.

That scoring play followed the Steelers turning the ball over on downs after failing to convert on a fourth-and-1 play in which they opted to pass than run. It was the second time Pittsburgh executed an odd play call on fourth-and-1, earlier opting to toss the ball back to Bell instead of running up the middle or giving Roethlisberger the ball on a QB sneak.

Pittsburgh was far from done, however. On the ensuing drive the Steelers again faced fourth down, this time in a clear passing situation. Roethlisberger again opted to take a shot down field, connecting with Brown for another TD to pull Pittsburgh back to a seven-point deficit.

The Steelers got a boost from Ryan Shazier, the linebacker who suffered a spinal injury in a Dec. 5 game. He was in Heinz Field cheering on the team and giving them a brief talk at halftime.

The Jaguars did temporarily lose Fournette, who was listed as questionable to return, with an ankle injury midway through the second quarter, but he was cleared to play in the second half.

[Will Sunday’s game be Ben Roethlisberger’s last home game with the Steelers?]

Does the hot start on a cold day matter for the Jaguars? Well, Jacksonville is 9-2 this season when it scores first. The Steelers are 2-2 when their opponent scores first.

Top story lines

Arrest made after threat to Steelers, fans: A San Antonio man was arrested after allegedly threatening a mass shooting during the game Sunday at Heinz Field. (Read more.)

Jaguars at Steelers (1:05 p.m. EST, CBS): The Jaguars made quite a statement when they played the Steelers during the regular season, intercepting Roethlisberger five times, sacking him twice and going on to win 30-9 in Week 5. Since then, the Jaguars are 8-4 and the Steelers are 10-1. For the Steelers, wide receiver Antonio Brown will play, but will he be effective after suffering a calf injury a few weeks ago? For the Jags, it’s a question of whether Blake Bortles and the offense can score enough to support the defense.

Saints at Vikings (4:40 p.m. EST, Fox): Sam Bradford was the quarterback when these teams played in the Monday night season opener and he long ago was supplanted by Case Keenum and Adrian Peterson was on the Saints’ bench. Much has changed since the Vikings 29-19 victory and both team have improved dramatically. The Saints have a three-pronged offense with Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. The Vikings have a smothering defense and, with Keenum playing well, have managed to avoid being hurt by the loss of Dalvin Cook.

The Patriots do their thing: New England’s reign over the AFC continued Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass., in the form of a 35-14 blowout win over the Tennessee Titans. The victory sends the Pats to their seventh consecutive conference championship game, and 12th in the past 17 years.

Tom Brady passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns, the 10th time in his career he’s had at least three scoring passes in a playoff game. Dion Lewis had 141 total yards for New England, while Danny Amendola caught 11 passes for 112 yards, Rob Gronkowski had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and James White added two touchdowns. Tennessee led 7-0 before the Patriots ran off 35 straight points in the rout, which featured a moment in the fourth quarter when the hosts had just nine fewer first downs (30) than the visitors had total plays (39).

New England will host the winner of Sunday’s Jaguars-Steelers matchup next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in the AFC championship game with the Patriots looking to reach their eighth Super Bowl since the 2001 season.

[For reasons large and small, Patriots roll back into AFC title game]

Eagles are barking: Then, there were the Philadelphia Eagles. They fell behind early and were relying on a backup quarterback. But the Eagles survived their divisional round matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, winning, 15-10, to advance to next Sunday’s NFC championship game.

Nick Foles passed for 246 yards, LeGarrette Blount rushed for his ninth career postseason touchdown, and the Eagles’ defense held Atlanta to 281 total yards. The NFC’s No. 1 seed, which will host the winner of Sunday’s Saints-Vikings matchup, managed to escape with the Falcons advancing all the way to the Philadelphia 2-yard line on their final possession. A fourth-and-goal pass to Julio Jones by Matt Ryan went through the wide receiver’s hands and fell incomplete with just over a minute left.

[Nick Foles outplays Matt Ryan, and Eagles hold off Falcons for playoff win]

The Eagles were the rare home underdog, a fact that they took great glee in pointing out afterward.

NFL headlines

Nothing to see here: Tom Brady makes a curious attempt to shoot down reports of friction with Bill Belichick and the Pats. (Read more.)

The return of Chucky: Jon Gruden returns to Raiders to settle “unfinished business” and the NFL will look into whether the hiring violated the Rooney Rule. (Read more on the coach’s return.)

Trivial pursuit: Brady is 40 years, 163 days old; Mariota is 24 years and 75 days old. That age difference will mark the first time in NFL history that starting quarterbacks have been more than 16 years apart. Because you want to know, the largest previous gap was 15 years, 166 days — when the Chiefs’ Steve DeBerg, at 37, beat the Raiders’ 22-year-old Todd Marinovich in 1991.

Diggs was big in high school, too: Before he found success with the Vikings, Stefon Diggs was impossible to stop in high school. (Read more.)

Who will play in London: Three NFL playoff teams will play in London this fall, but a new survey shows Brits are still bored by the American football. (Read more.)

Trump blowback: Athletes of Haitian descent took issue with the president’s vulgar comment about immigration. (Read more.)


Injury news

Bradford on deck: Backing up Vikings quarterback Case Keenum will be Sam Bradford, with Teddy Bridgewater inactive.

Shazier mending: Ryan Shazier, the Steelers linebacker who suffered a spinal injury in the Dec. 5 game against the Bengals, visited the team during practice Wednesday. Although he has feeling in his legs, he still is using a wheelchair.

“I want to thank the Lord for the first downs that he has been allowing me to achieve. The touchdown is going to come in his timing, but today was a first down. I was finally able to make it to practice with my teammates,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s great to be back for practices and meetings. Just to be able to feel a part of it means the world. So I’m working harder than I ever have to get back. I’ve been making strides over the past month and continue to make progress. Taking it day-by-day, but I’m far from done. The Lord has not finished his work yet. I want to say thank you to the fans and Steelers Nation for the prayers. If it wasn’t for my family, friends and your prayers I wouldn’t be were I am now. They have lifted me and my family through this journey and I ask for you to continue praying for me, as I continue to work daily on improving my health.”

Picks

Divisional-playoff picks and Super Bowl odds: The Eagles and Jaguars will upset the Falcons and Steelers. (Read more.)

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