High Boltage

[djp73]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
PLAYOFF RESULTS
WILDCARD WEEKEND


RUSSELL WILSON LED THE SEAHAWKS TO A WIN ON THE ROAD

NFL Scoreboard


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Players of the Week


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[djp73]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
PLAYOFF PREVIEW
DIVISIONAL WEEKEND

#5 @ #1
9-7 | 14-2
Saturday January 12th 2019 4:35PM EST
Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#5 @ #1
11-5 | 11-5
Saturday January 12th 2019 8:15PM EST
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, California

#3 @ #2
10-6 | 12-4
Sunday January 13th 2019 1:05PM EST
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts

#3 @ #2
10-6 | 10-5-1
Sunday January 13th 2019 4:40PM EST
Ford Field - Detroit, Michigan
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[djp73]

GAME PREVIEW

@
10-6 | 12-4
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Sunday January 13th 2019 1:05PM EST
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts
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TOM BRADY IS FANCY AF
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STATS COMPARISON
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25|PPG|31
21|PA|25
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KEY OPPONENTS
QB T. Brady 4,611Yds 49TD 14Int
RB J. White 246Car 995Yds 8TD
WR J. Edelman 87Rec 1,106Yds 9TD
TE R. Gronkowski 90Rec 973Yds 12TD
DE T. Flowers 39Tkl 7Sck
LB D. Hightower 51Tkl 12Sck 2Int
FS D. McCourty 52Tkl 2Int
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INACTIVES

WR K. Allen
WR A. Scott
TE H. Henry
C M. Pouncey
CB J. Verrett
SS J. Watkins


WR B. Berrios
TE R. Izzo
OT I. Wynn
OT U. John
LB C. Sam

[djp73]

GAME REPORT
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF




HAYWARD'S PICK SIX SET THE TONE EARLY ON

GOAT MEAT
Obviously Rattled Brady Struggles in Historic Win for Chargers

Foxboro, Massachusetts - James White appeared to fumble on the Patriots first offensive play of the game, Los Angeles recovered but the fumble was overturned. A few plays later White fumbled for real and the Chargers recovered. Turnovers would be a theme for the game.

Los Angeles scored first when Casey Hayward picked off a Tom Brady pass that was intended for Chris Hogan and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

On New England's ensuing possession Joey Bosa got to Brady and laid a legal but vicious hit on him for a third down sack. Brady was visibly shaken and was helped off the field by Rob Gronkowski and Marcus Cannon.

The Chargers made it 14-0 early in the second quarter when Geno Smith plunged into the endzone from a yard out on a quarterback sneak.

Despite Brian Hoyer warming up during the Chargers possession Brady led the Patriots offense back out.

The Chargers added two more scores in the second quarter, a 10 yard Philip Rivers to Sean Culkin touchdown pass and a three yarder from Rivers to Virgil Green as the first half ended. Brady struggled to hit receivers and the Patriot's running game was all but useless.

The Patriots did threaten at one point in the second quarter but Hayward picked off Brady in the endzone to keep them off the scoreboard.

Los Angeles took a 35-0 lead on the first play of the second half when Rivers hit Travis Benjamin on a slant and he outran the Pats defense for a 65 yard touchdown.

Hoyer took snaps on the Patriots first third quarter possession but merely handed the ball off three times before they punted.

Brady and the Pats offense continued to struggle into the fourth quarter.

Tyrell Williams dove into the endzone to make it 42-0 in the middle of the fourth quarter. New England avoided a shutout by inexplicably kicking a 31 yard field goal with 2:33 left to play. Geno Smith and the Chargers offense ran out the clock and celebrated a huge 42-3 win.

New England managed just 174 yards of total offense and turned the ball over four times in the loss. The Chargers rolled up 386 total yards and did not turn the ball over once.

“Obviously a huge win for us. Great game all around. Philip played great. Defense was great. Everyone was great really.” Coach Anthony Lynn replied when asked what was the key to the win.

“We're not going to speculate on any of that.” Patriots coach Bill Belichick answered when asked about a possible injury to Brady. When a reporter pushed for details Belichick left the room.

Melvin Gordon did leave the game with an apparent injury. He did return to the sideline late in the game. The Chargers had the game in hand at that point so he did not return to action.

The Chargers will go to the AFC Conference Championship game for the first time since 2007 when they lost to the undefeated Patriots.

Antonio Gates spent several minutes looking around the stadium after most had left leading to speculation that he may retire after the season.

The Steelers await the Chargers after topping the Texans in the other Divisional game.

Game Media






Scoring
|07|21|07|07|42
|00|00|00|03|03

Q1 LA C. Hayward 44 YD Int Return (C. Sturgis kick)
Q2 LA G. Smith 1 YD Run (C. Sturgis kick)
Q2 LA S. Culkin 10 YD Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis Kick)
Q2 LA V. Green 3 YD Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis Kick)
Q3 LA T. Benjamin 65 YD Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis Kick)
Q4 LA T. Williams 13 YD Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis Kick)
Q4 NE S. Gostkowski 31 YD FG

Key Stats

P. Rivers – 21/24 282Yds 4TD
G. Smith – 1/1 13Yds, 1Car 1Yds 1TD
A. Ekeler – 11Car 55Yds
M. Gordon – 6Car 39Yds, 1Rec 4Yds
C. West – 1Car 13Yds
T. Benjamin – 2Rec 81Yds 1TD
V. Green – 5Rec 75Yds 1TD
T. Williams – 6Rec 54Yds 1TD
A. Gates – 3Rec 42Yds
S. Culkin – 1Rec 10Yds 1TD
C. Hayward – 5Tkl, 3Int, 1TD
U. Nwosu – 4Tkl
J. Bosa – 1Tkl, 1Sck


T. Brady – 15/23 132Yds 3Int
J. White – 14Car 48Yds, 5Rec 38Yds
S. Michel – 2Car 6Yds
R. Gronkowski – 5Rec 46Yds
J. Edelman – 2Rec 20Yds
D. McCourty – 8Tkl
T. Flowers – 4Tkl
D. Harmon – 4Tkl
K. Van Noy – 3Tkl, 1Sck
D. Hightower – 1Tkl, 1Sck

Next Week
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
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10-6 | 14-2

[djp73]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
PLAYOFF RESULTS
DIVISIONAL WEEKEND


GOFF HAS THE YOUNG, EXPLOSIVE RAMS IN THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

NFL Scoreboard


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Players of the Week


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[djp73]

Bolts From The Blue
@BFTB_Chargers

Mike Pouncey and Keenan Allen both 100% for AFC Championship, both expected to start.

[djp73]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
PLAYOFF PREVIEW
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

#3 @ #1
10-6 | 14-2
Sunday January 20th 2019 4:00PM EST
Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#3 @ #1
10-6 | 11-5
Sunday January 20th 2019 7:00PM EST
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, California
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[djp73]

GAME PREVIEW

@
10-6 | 14-2
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Sunday January 20th 2019 4:00PM EST
Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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LE'VEON BELL IS THE STEELERS BIGGEST WEAPON THIS SEASON
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STATS COMPARISON
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7247|TOT YDS|7553
6197|OFF YDS|6135
4352|PASS YDS|3956
1845|RUSH YDS|2179
25.1|PPG|27.1
33|PASS TD|29
7|RUSH TD|20
302|1ST DOWNS|278
5367|TOT DEF|5337
4077|PASS DEF|3882
1290|RUSH DEF|1455
336|POINTS|345
36|SACKS|57
9|FUMBLES|4
21|INTS|12
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KEY OPPONENTS
QB B. Roethlisberger 4,130Yds 31TD 9Int
RB L. Bell 323Car 1,781Yds 14TD
WR A. Brown 74Rec 879Yds 9TD
WR E. Rogers 54Rec 831Yds 10TD
DE C. Heyward 33Tkl, 13Sck
LB T. Watt 55Tkl, 13Sck
CB J. Haden 75Tkl, 1Int

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INACTIVES

WR A. Scott
TE H. Henry
CB J. Verrett
SS J. Watkins


TE R. Malleck
TE J. McGee
OT J. Hawkins
DE S. Tuitt
LB R. Shazier

[djp73]

GAME REPORT
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

BIG BEN BIG IN COMEBACK WIN
Chargers Fall to Steelers Despite Leading with Under Two Minutes Left

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - [/b]The Steelers first two possessions ended with turnovers while the Chargers first two possessions ended with points. At that point it looked like the Chargers may be on their way to the Superbowl.

Ben Roethlisberger had other plans however.

The Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, scoring twice after Pittsburgh turnovers. A Roethlisberger pick by Jahleel Addae led to a 58 yard Philip Rivers to Virgil Green touchdown pass. After a Steelers fumble was recovered by the Chargers they added a 34 yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis.

Pittsburgh got on the board in the second quarter via a five yard Le'Veon Bell touchdown run.

Rivers connected with Antonio Gates for a three yard touchdown to put them on top 17-7.

Pittsburgh came storming back, tying the game before halftime with a 42 field goal by Chris Boswell and a six yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Vance McDonald. Sturgis came up short on a 50 yard field goal attempt in strong wind as the half ran out.

The third quarter was largely made up of stalled drives and punts. Drew Kaser pinned Pittsburgh deep in their own territory and Brandon Mebane busted through the middle and sacked Roethlisberger in the endzone for a safety and a 19-17 Chargers lead. The ensuing possession culminated in a 56 yard Sturgis field goal, making it 22-17 Chargers after three quarters.

“No panic.” Mike Tomlin replied when asked about his team's level of concern to start the fourth. “Top to bottom no panic, that starts with Ben obviously.”

Sturgis extended the lead to 25-17 with a 26 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Ben led a quick drive and capped it with a seven yard touchdown pass to McDonald then hit Eli Rogers for the two point conversion and the tie at 25-25 with just under seven minutes left to play.

Rivers and the Chargers chewed up five minutes of clock but had their drive stall and settled for a 28-25 lead on a 44 yard kick by Sturgis. There was 1:55 left to play and both teams had all their timeouts.

“You know there's a good chance when you get Ben and that offense the ball back with that much time.” Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt explained. “There was a lot of confidence there.”

Roethlisberger wasted little time, hitting McDonald deep down the middle to the 32 then finding a very open Juju Smith-Schuster for a touchdown from there. Boswell's kick made it 32-28 with 1:19 left.

“Still plenty of time.” Rivers told his troops.

The Chargers mixed runs and passes to move into Steelers territory, using up their timeouts in the process. Rivers was sacked with 20 seconds left on third down. With no opportunity to spike the ball and no time to get the field goal team out Rivers got the offense set and hit Mike Williams on a seam route.

The Chargers season ended with Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, who they re-signed mid-season, taking down Williams at the twelve yard line.

“Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't.” Rivers said after the game. “Great game. Great season.”

Rivers did not answer questions about his future. Neither did Antonio Gates.

The Steelers will face the Rams in two weeks in the Superbowl.

Game Media






Scoring
|10|07|05|06|28
|00|17|00|15|32

Q1 LAC V. Green 58 YD Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis Kick)
Q1 LAC C. Sturgis 34 YD FG
Q2 PIT L. Bell 5 YD Run (C. Boswell kick)
Q2 LAC A. Gates 3 Yd Pass from P. Rivers (C. Sturgis kick)
Q2 PIT C. Boswell 42 YD FG
Q2 PIT V. McDonald 6 YD Pass from B. Roethlisberger (C. Boswell kick)
Q3 LAC Safety
Q3 LAC C. Sturgis 56 YD FG
Q4 LAC C. Sturgis 26 YD FG
Q4 PIT V. McDonald 7 YD Pass from B. Roethlisberger (2PT)
Q4 LAC C. Sturgis 44 YD FG
Q4 PIT J. Smith-Schuster 32 YD Pass from B. Roethlisberger (C. Boswell kick)

Key Stats




Next Week
OFFSEASON
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[djp73]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
PLAYOFF RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND


GOFF HAS THE YOUNG, EXPLOSIVE RAMS IN THE SUPERBOWL

NFL Scoreboard
Chargers 28 – 32 Steelers

Giants 21 – 35 Rams

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Players of the Week


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