Down 27-0, the Jacksonville Jaguars complete a wild playoff comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers
Trevor Lawrence celebrates on the field after the Jaguars defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at TIAA Bank Field on January 14 in Jacksonville
By Jacob Lev and Travis Caldwell, CNN
After an improbable streak of five victories at the end of the regular season to send the Jacksonville Jaguars to a division title and a berth in the NFL postseason, what could have been next in store as they faced the Los Angeles Chargers in the opening Wild Card round?
How about an improbable playoff comeback.
Down 27-0 in the second quarter, the Jaguars made a miraculous run — capped with a last-second field goal — to defeat the Chargers 31-30 at Jacksonville’s TIAA Bank Field Saturday night.
The Jaguars had as bad of a first half as a team can possibly have. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions as the team fell behind. Lawrence settled down and threw a touchdown right before halftime to cut the deficit to 27-7.
In the second half, Lawrence threw three more touchdowns to eventually make it a 30-28 game. With less than four minutes to go in the game, the Jaguars defense came up big and forced the Chargers to punt.
Jacksonville drove down the field and Riley Patterson kicked a game-winning 36-yard-field goal to complete the comeback.
The 27-point comeback is the third biggest in NFL postseason history.
Lawrence would finish the game with 288 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Mired with a 4-8 record during the regular season before their winning streak, the Jaguars now await Sunday’s action around the league to determine their next opponent in the playoffs.
49ers stop Seahawks
Earlier Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated their division rival Seattle Seahawks 41-23 behind rookie sensation Brock Purdy’s huge game.
The 23-year-old quarterback threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns. 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey added 119 yards on the ground and caught a touchdown.
Purdy, known as “Mr. Irrelevant” for being drafted with the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is now 6-0 as a starter since taking over the job from injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers will either host the Minnesota Vikings if they beat the New York Giants on Sunday or play the winner of Monday’s showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys if the Vikings lose.
The Wild Card round continues with three games on Sunday and one game on Monday. Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The-CNN-Wire
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