PITTSBURGH -- The Jacksonville Jaguars, yes those Jacksonville Jaguars, are heading to the AFC championship game.
Rookie running back Leonard Fournette ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns, Blake Bortles added 214 yards passing and a vital fourth-quarter score as the relentless Jaguars stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 on Sunday.
The third-seeded Jaguars (12-6) will face top-seeded New England (14-3) next week in Foxborough, Mass., after jumping on Pittsburgh early, then holding on late. Jacksonville raced to a 21-point lead, fended off a Steelers rally and responded every time Pittsburgh (13-4) challenged.
"The guys played with confidence all day long," Bortles said. "Obviously, what they have on their side of the ball, it's a good team. We know they got a good offense. We knew we were going to have to be efficient, hold on to the ball for a little bit, so we did it."
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 469 yards and set a franchise record with five touchdown passes, but he was also intercepted once and had a fumble returned for a score. All-Pro Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns in his return from a left calf injury. Le'Veon Bell had 155 yards of total offense and two scores.
But Pittsburgh's vaunted "Killer Bs" couldn't keep pace with Jacksonville, one of four NFL franchises to never make the Super Bowl. The Jaguars dominated the Steelers back in October, winning by three touchdowns in a performance so overwhelming Roethlisberger only half-jokingly wondered aloud whether he still had "it" after throwing a career-high five picks.
Roethlisberger and his teammates left little doubt they hoped for a rematch, one that came to fruition after Jacksonville outlasted Buffalo in an ugly wild-card victory. The Jaguars survived in spite of an 87-yard passing performance by Bortles.
Jacksonville cornerback A.J. Bouye cautioned Pittsburgh to be careful what it wished for, and the Jaguars hardly appeared intimidated by the 18-degree chill or trying to earn their first road playoff win in a decade.
Fournette's ever-churning legs set the tone early. He soared for a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down on Jacksonville's first possession. He sprinted for an 18-yard score on the first play following a Roethlisberger pick and bulled over from 3 yards in the fourth quarter after the Steelers cut the lead to a touchdown.
The Steelers led the NFL with a franchise-record 55 sacks but never once got to Bortles. If he wasn't scrambling for extra yardage, he was using play-action or deftly-executed screen passes. His 45-yard completion in the fourth quarter set up Fournette's final score, and his 14-yard flip to Tommy Bohanon with 4:19 left vaulted the Jaguars to the NFL's final four for only third time in team history.
Sports on 01/15/2018