Jaguars, 49ers Advance to the Divisional Round, Eliminate the Chargers, Seahawks

The Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers have won their respective Wild Card games. The Jags were better than the LA Chargers, erasing a 27-point deficit and making one of the best comebacks in the history of the NFL playoffs. Meanwhile, the 49ers were better than the Seattle Seahawks.

The Jaguars were down 27-0 in the first half but emerged on the winning side following Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal with the time expiring. This is the third biggest comeback in the NFL playoffs history, and it wouldn’t have happened without Trevor Lawrence, who was the man in the middle in this game.

The former No.1 pick was terrible in the opening half, with four interceptions thrown. However, Lawrence bounced back, posting four TD passes in the second 30 minutes.

“I am kind of speechless, honestly, just to see what belief can do — to see when a team believes in each other what you can accomplish,” Lawrence stated.

Eventually, Lawrence had 28 completions in 47 passing attempts. All of his four scoring passes were towards different players – Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Marvin Jones Jr. Engram had 93 receiving yards, Kirk 78, and Jones four fewer. Travis Etienne ran 20 times for 109 yards.

Everything was perfect for the Chargers at the beginning. Justin Herbert was cruising down the field with one TD pass, while Austin Ekeler carried the football into the end zone twice. However, they would stop with the game entering the second half, allowing the hosts to get wild.

Apart from Gerald Everet, who had 109 receiving yards and a TD, we didn’t see anything from the LAC’s receiving threats. Herbert ended the night with 273 passing yards and one TD, while Ekeler had only 35 yards on the ground in 13 snaps.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers eliminated the division rivals, Seattle Seahawks, 41-23. After a solid opening and a 10-0 lead, the Niners slowed down, and the guests from Seattle took the lead before the halftime break, 17-16.

But as soon as the third half started, San Francisco shifted into a higher gear, rolling over Geno Smith and the boys. The results came in the final period, once Elijah Mitchell and Deebo Samuel scored touchdowns. An especially impressive one was from Samuel, who had a 74-yard TD.

Young Brock Purdy had four TD passes, three through the air and one on the ground, looking great and delivering one of the best playoff debuts in recent years. Purdy threw 332 yards, 18-for-30. Christian McCaffrey ran 15 times for 119 yards, while Samuel caught six passes for 133 yards. Brendan Aiyuk added 73 in three receptions.

Geno Smith posted a solid performance, with 253 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one pick. Both of his scoring tosses were toward DK Metcalf, who had ten receptions for 136 yards and a superb display. Though, Smith had a fumble that ended in the Niners’ possession.

Kenneth Walker III recorded one rushing TD and 63 yards on the ground in 15 rushes.

Today we have three games on the menu, with the Buffalo Bills hosting the Miami Dolphins, the Vikings awaiting the NY Giants in Minneapolis, and the Bengals against the Baltimore Ravens in Cinci.