Injuries
MIA WR Devante Parker (leg)
MIA WR Will Fuller V (personal)
MIA S Jason McCourty (foot)
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NE HB James White (hip)
NE CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder)
NE DE Chase Winovich (groin)
NE DE Henry Anderson (chest)
Folk's 36-yard GW field goal against Dolphins sends Patriots into playoffs
The last time Mac Jones played at Hard Rock Stadium, his night ended with confetti and a national championship. There wasn't any confetti raining down in South Florida this time but it was still another celebratory moment for the young quarterback.
Jones twice led New England into potential game-winning field goals with the second time in overtime being the charm as Nick Folk's 36-yard field goal gave New England a 31-28 win over Miami on Sunday and punched their ticket into the playoffs.
Folk missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of regular after Jones had completed passes of 8, 11, 14 and 8 to get the ball to the Miami 34-yard line before New England took their foot of the gas, gaining five more yards on the next two plays on running plays to get the ball to the Miami 28-yard line. Folk's field goal hooked left, giving Miami a chance to win the game in overtime.
They had possession first and after converting a 3rd and eight, failed to pick up another first down and gave New England the ball. New England also got off to a hot start with pickups of sixteen and eight yards on the first two plays but then went backwards on a Rhamondre Stevenson run followed up by a batted pass by former Patriot Eric Rowe on a pass intended for Jonnu Smith.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins responded with a three-and-out, giving Jones another chance to ensure that New England is playing next week. A sixteen-yard completion to Nelson Agholor got them in scoring position and the running game did the rest, bringing it to the Miami 19-yard line for Folk's game winner that was successful this time around.
Both former Alabama quarterbacks impressed in what turned into a surprising quarterback duel. Jones finished with 367 yards passing and three touchdowns as did Tagovailoa with 369 yards passing.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[NE] D. Harris 17 Yd pass from M. Jones (6:23)
[MIA] M. Gaskin, 2 Yd run (0:04)
Quarter 2
[NE] J. Johnson 3 Yd pass from M. Jones (8:15)
[MIA] A. Wilson II 55 Yd pass from T. Tagovailoa (3:08)
[NE] N. Folk, 27 Yd FG (0:32)
Quarter 3
[NE] N. Folk, 29 Yd FG (2:19)
Quarter 4
[MIA] P. Williams 6 Yd pass from T. Tagovailoa (14:15)
[NE] R. Stevenson 10 Yd pass from M. Jones -- 2pt (10:00)
[MIA] A. Wilson II 17 Yd pass from T. Tagovailoa (1:35)
Overtime
[NE] N. Folk, 35 Yd FG (1:16)
---------------------------------------------------------------- New England Patriots
QB Mac Jones: 32 of 45, 367 yards, 3 touchdowns, sacked once.
HB Damien Harris: 23 carries, 105 yards, 1 reception, 17 yards, touchdown.
HB Rhamondre Stevenson: 10 carries, 29 yards, 5 receptions, 57 yards, touchdown.
TE Jonnu Smith: 7 receptions, 75 yards.
WR Jakobi Meyers: 7 receptions, 70 yards.
TE Hunter Henry: 4 receptions, 55 yards.
WR Kendrick Bourne: 3 receptions, 48 yards.
WR Nelson Agholor: 3 receptions, 37 yards.
LT Wynn: 77.1 PFF grade | LG Onwenu: 94.7 PFF grade | C Andrews: 64.5 PFF grade | RG Mason: 91.8 PFF grade | RT Brown: 80.1 PFF grade
CB Joejuan Williams: 6 tackles, tackle for loss, sack.
LB Dont'a Hightower: 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
EDGE Josh Uche: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, sack.
EDGE Matthew Judon: 2 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
NFC East
1. Dallas, 12-5 (clinched division)
2. Washington, 8-9
3. NY Giants, 6-11
4. Philadelphia, 6-11
NFC West
1. Arizona, 11-6 (clinched division)
2. LA Rams, 11-6 (clinched playoff)
3. Seattle, 7-10
4. San Francisco, 7-10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFL Wild Card Schedule
Buffalo Bills (10-7) at Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) at Tennessee Titans (12-5)
Los Angeles Rams (11-6) at Arizona Cardinals (11-6)
New Orleans Saints (8-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-5)
Kansas City Chiefs (10-7) at New England Patriots (10-7)
Atlanta Falcons (10-7) at Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
QB Ryan Tannehill (TEN): 20 of 28, 250 yards, 4 touchdowns.
DT DeForest Buckner (IND): 9 tackles, 3 sacks.
QB Matthew Stafford (LAR): 24 of 33, 290 yards, 4 touchdowns.
LB Josh Bynes (CAR): 6 tackles, sack, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- League Leader Passing
1. QB Tom Brady (NE): 68 cmp %, 5876 yds, 52 TD
2. QB Patrick Mahomes (TB): 65 cmp %, 5147 yds, 38 TD
3. QB Derek Carr (LV): 65 cmp%, 5086 yds, 30 TD Rushing
1. HB Ezekiel Elliott (DAL): 310 carries, 1522 yds, 15 TD
2. HB Jonathan Taylor (IND): 275 carries, 1403 yds, 11 TD
3. HB Damien Harris (NE): 297 carries, 1329 yds, 14 TD Receiving
1. WR Deebo Samuel (SF): 100 receptions, 1621 yds, 10 TD
2. WR Cooper Kupp (LAR): 106 receptions, 1452 yds, 12 TD
3. WR Keenan Allen (LAC): 112 receptions, 1437 yards, 9 TD Sacks
1. DE Myles Garrett (CLE): 17 sacks
2. OLB Matthew Judon (NE): 16 sacks
3. OLB Joey Bosa (LAC): 15 sacks Interceptions
1. CB Trevon Diggs (DAL): 8 interceptions
2. CB Byron Murphy Jr. (ARI): 8 interceptions
3. S Kevin Byard (TEN): 6 interceptions Tackles
1. LB Bobby Wagner (SEA): 172 tackles
2. LB Eric Kendricks (MIN): 149 tackles.
3. LB De'Vondre Campbell (ARI): 141 tackles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Playoff Injuries
T Tristan Wirfs (TB): 1 week (finger)
WR Antonio Brown (TB): 1 week (finger)
HB Ronald Jones (TB): 1 week (hamstring)
DE J.J. Watt (ARI): Season (shoulder)
T Bryan Bulaga (LAC): Season (shoulder)
LB Kenneth Murray (LAC): Season (leg)
HB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC): Season (ankle)
DE DeMarcus Lawrence (DAL): Season (knee)
WR Michael Gallup (DAL): Season (shoulder)
WR Calvin Ridley (ATL): Season (personal)
T David Bakhtiari (GB): Season (shoulder)
CB Jaire Alexander (GB): Season (leg)
OLB Za'Darius Smith (GB): Season (tricep)
TE Robert Tonyan (GB): Season (knee)
CB Jonathan Jones (NE): Season (shoulder)
HB James White (NE): Season (hip)
LG Richie Incognito (LV): Season (wrist)
CB Trayvon Mullen Jr. (LV): Season (ankle)
LB K.J. Wright (LV): Season (finger)
CB Jalen Ramsey (LAR): 3 weeks (shoulder)
HB Cam Akers (LAR): Season (ankle)
LT Ronnie Stanley (BAL): Season (ankle)
CB Marcus Peters (BAL): Season (knee)
CB Marlon Humphrey (BAL): 1 week (back)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Transactions
Chicago Bears fire offensive coordinator Bill Lazor
San Francisco 49ers fire defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans
Seattle Seahawks fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron
Pittsburgh Steelers fire defensive coordinator Keith Butler
Houston Texans fire offensive coordinator Tim Kelly
Injuries
KC HB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle)
------
NE HB James White (hip)
NE CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder)
NE DE Chase Winovich (groin)
NE DE Henry Anderson (chest)
Folk strikes again to complete New England Patriots comeback win over Kansas City Chiefs
Two interceptions from Mac Jones, two missed kicks and a fumble at the goal-line by Hunter Henry had the New England Patriots scoreless and down seventeen points at the half. They had outplayed and outgained the defending AFC champions but the box score showed differently.
By the end of the night, Jones and Nick Folk righted their wrongs as Damien Harris led the way to a New England comeback and 24-23 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday to advance to the divisional round.
New England took their first lead of the night with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter as Jones found a wide open Rhamondre Stevenson in the flats for a five-yard touchdown. Patrick Mahomes would be intercepted on the next possession after getting the ball to the New England 44-yard line but the Chiefs defense forced a quick three and out.
Completions of nine and thirteen yards to tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray would find Kansas City back in scoring position, down by only one point with two minutes left in the game and the ball on the New England 20 yard line.
Kansas City could have bled the clock out as New England called a timeout following a five-yard run by Jerick McKinnon but after a loss of one-yard on the next play, the Chiefs not only chose to throw the ball, they chose to hurry to the line of scrimmage and snap the ball quickly, hoping to catch the defense off balance and they almost did but Tyreek Hill couldn't hang on to the would-be touchdown. The drop gave New England new life as it limited Kansas City to just a field goal and gave Jones and the Patriots extra time.
Jones completed passes of 22, 19 and 12 yards in forty seconds to get the ball on the Kansas City 23-yard line with the heavy winds to their back. They ran the ball three more times, eating Kansas City's timeouts, exactly what the Chiefs had failed to do in the previous possession. With the ball on the thirteen yard line, Folk nailed the 30-yard field goal to hand Jones his first career playoff victory and the Patriots first one in the post Tom Brady era.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[KC] T. Kelce 10 Yd pass from P. Mahomes (11:23)
Quarter 2
[KC] T. Kelce 37 Yd pass from P. Mahomes (9:01)
[KC] H. Butker, 42 Yd FG (6:46)
Quarter 3
[NE] D. Harris, 2 Yd run (11:30)
[KC] H. Butker, 20 Yd FG (6:35)
[NE] D. Harris, 4 Yd run (2:17)
Quarter 4
[NE] R. Stevenson 5 Yd pass from M. Jones (8:52)
[KC] H. Butker, 32 Yd FG (1:34)
[NE] N. Folk, 30 Yd FG (0:00)
---------------------------------------------------------------- New England Patriots
QB Mac Jones: 28 of 48, 372 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions, sacked once.
HB Damien Harris: 31 carries, 139 yards, 2 touchdowns.
HB Rhamondre Stevenson: 6 carries, 17 yards, 3 receptions, 23 yards, touchdown.
WR Jakobi Meyers: 9 receptions, 135 yards.
TE Hunter Henry: 7 receptions, 97 yards.
WR Kendrick Bourne: 3 receptions, 53 yards.
LT Wynn: 79.1 PFF grade | LG Onwenu: 80.9 PFF grade | C Andrews: 80.0 PFF grade | RG Mason: 62.8 PFF grade | RT Brown: 71.5 PFF grade
CB Jalen Mills: 9 tackles, tackle for loss, interception.
IDL Lawrence Guy: 3 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
IDL Christian Barmore: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
Kansas City Chiefs
QB Patrick Mahomes: 22 of 34, 295 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception, sacked 4 times.
HB Darrel Williams: 9 carries, 19 yards.
HB Jerick McKinnon: 6 carries, 36 yards, 4 receptions, 21 yards.
WR Tyreek Hill: 4 receptions, 101 yards.
TE Travis Kelce: 6 receptions, 92 yards, 2 touchdowns.
WR Mecole Hardman: 4 receptions, 51 yards.
LB Anthony Hitchens: 10 tackles.
S Tyrann Mathieu: 8 tackles.
CB L'Jarius Sneed: 7 tackles, tackle for loss, interception.
DE Chris Jones: 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
CB Mike Hughes: 2 tackles, interception.
