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01/11 16:07 CST Bills join Bears and Rams in advancing to divisional round with
comeback wins in NFL playoffs
Bills join Bears and Rams in advancing to divisional round with comeback wins
in NFL playoffs
By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills joined the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams
in advancing to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
Allen led the Bills to a 27-24 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars
in the first of three wild-card playoff games on Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers (12-5) took on the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) in the
middle game and the New England Patriots (14-3) will host the Los Angeles
Chargers (11-6) in the nightcap.
Allen scored on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter and Cole Bishop
intercepted Trevor Lawrence's pass to secure Buffalo's first playoff win on the
road since the 1992 AFC championship game at Miami.
The No. 6 seed Bills will wait to find out their next opponent. It's the sixth
straight season under coach Sean McDermott that Buffalo has reached the second
round of the playoffs.
On Saturday, the NFL playoffs kicked off with two wacky games.
The Bears (12-6) trailed the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime and 27-16 with
just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before Caleb Williams threw
a pair of touchdown passes. His 25-yard TD toss to D.J. Moore put Chicago ahead
31-27 with 1:43 remaining. Then Jordan Love's desperation heave into the end
zone from the Bears 28 was knocked down as time expired to secure Chicago's
first playoff win since the 2010 season.
Williams finished with 361 yards passing, two TDs and two interceptions for the
No. 2 seed Bears, who will host the Rams (13-5) or Eagles next weekend.
In the opener on wild-card weekend, Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown
pass to Colby Parkinson in the final minute and the Rams rallied to beat the
Carolina Panthers 34-31 in a game that was much closer than expected.
The Rams were double-digit favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook against the Panthers
(8-10). The Rams jumped to a 14-0 lead, but couldn't take advantage of
first-half turnovers and allowed Carolina to get within 17-14 at halftime.
Stafford, who earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career on
Saturday, threw for 304 yards, three TDs and had one pick. Puka Nacua, who was
a unanimous All-Pro selection, had 10 catches for 111 yards and one TD and also
had a 5-yard TD run.
The Rams are back in the divisional round for the second straight season. Last
year, they were 13 yards away from eliminating Philadelphia before a sack and
an incomplete pass ended their season with a 28-22 loss.
No. 5 seed Los Angeles will face No. 1 seed Seattle if the Eagles lose to the
49ers.
Bryce Young's 7-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker put the Panthers ahead 31-27 with
2:43 remaining but Stafford drove the Rams 71 yards in two minutes. Parkinson
made an outstanding, tightrope catch for the winning score and the defense held.
Behind coach Dave Canales and improved QB Bryce Young, the Panthers have reason
to be optimistic about the future after winning a weak NFC South and nearly
pulling off a major upset.
The Packers (9-8-1) finished the season with five straight losses. They were
9-3-1 before All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his ACL in a loss to Denver
on Dec. 14.
On Monday night, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
host DeMeco Ryans, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans (12-5).
The Denver Broncos (14-3) are the AFC's No. 1 seed and the Seahawks (14-3) got
the top seed in the NFC. Each team earned a bye and will host the lowest
remaining seed next weekend.
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