Lawrence, Jags rally from 27 down, shock Chargers 31-30

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence followed four interceptions with four touchdown passes — one of the most improbable turnarounds in NFL postseason history — and rallied the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-30 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.

Lawrence engineered the winning drive, highlighted by Travis Etienne’s 25-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play, and put the Jaguars in position for Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal on the final play. It capped a 27-point comeback, the third largest in playoff history.

Patterson’s kick barely stayed inside the right upright and set off a raucous celebration for a franchise that had won just four games the previous two years.

This one was mostly a credit to Lawrence. He completed 28 of 47 passes for 288 yards, a shocker considering he the way he started.

Lawrence was downright dreadful to begin Jacksonville’s first playoff game since losing in the 2017 AFC title game. He became the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw four interceptions in the first half of a playoff game, joining Detroit’s Gary Danielson and Denver’s Craig Morton.

The Jaguars (10-8) became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win a playoff game with a turnover differential of minus-5 or worse.

Lawrence threw TD passes to Evan Engram, Marvin Jones, Zay Jones and Christian Kirk, and he added one of the biggest plays when he jumped for a 2-point conversion with 5:25 to play that made it 30-28.

Justin Herbert threw for 273 yards and a touchdown without an interception, but the Chargers’ offense was largely ineffective after a 62-yard TD drive that made it 24-0 midway through the second quarter. Los Angeles (10-8) finished with 320 yards of offense and 18 first downs, and it produced only three points on four second-half possessions.

49ERS 41, SEAHAWKS 23

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score in his playoff debut, leading San Francisco past Seattle.

Purdy picked up where he left off in the regular season for the 49ers (14-4) and showed few signs of playoff jitters by winning his sixth straight start since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in a Week 13 win over Miami.

The Niners advanced to the divisional round where they will host either Minnesota, Tampa Bay or Dallas next weekend.

Purdy connected on a 3-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey in the first quarter, converted a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter and a 7-yard TD pass to Elijah Mitchell early in the fourth to make it 31-17.

The Niners broke it open when Deebo Samuel took a short pass from Purdy and raced in for a 74-yard score.

Purdy threw for 332 yards — the second most ever for a rookie in the playoffs to Russell Wilson’s 385 in a loss to Atlanta 10 years ago — and he became the first rookie QB ever to account for four TDs in a playoff game.

The Seahawks (9-9) kept it close for most of three quarters before a strip sack by Charles Omenihu late in the third quarter spoiled a red zone drive.

Geno kept it close for a while thanks to a 50-yard TD pass to DK Metcalf in the first half. He finished 25 for 35 for 253 yards, two TDs and one interception.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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