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Jaguars stun Steelers 45-42 to earn trip to AFC title game

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — 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 next week in Foxborough, Massachusetts 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.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 469 yards and set a franchise record with five touchdown passes, but 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. e 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.

Bortles has found himself a touchstone during Jacksonville’s resurgence following a decade of losing, even allowing last week that he’ll never be able to silence all of his critics no matter what.

Might be time to test that theory.

While he wasn’t flawless, he also wasn’t afraid. Having the burly Fournette certainly helped, but Bortles also never hesitated — 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 Bohannon with 4:19 left vaulted the Jaguars to the NFL’s final four for only third time in team history.

The Jaguars did it on a day the NFL’s top-ranked defense hardly looked like it. Though Jacksonville forced a pair of first-half turnovers, including Roethlisberger’s fumble that Telvin Smith returned 48 yards for a score and a 28-7 lead, Pittsburgh rolled up 545 yards.

Still, it’s 2 yards the Steelers didn’t get that helped send them into an offseason filled with questions.

Twice Pittsburgh had fourth-and-1 in Jacksonville territory. Twice it did something other than have the 6-foot-5 Roethlisberger sneak. The Steelers ran wide in the first quarter and Bell was stuffed for a 4-yard loss. The Jaguars responded immediately by going 75 yards in 11 plays, the final one a 4-yard sprint by T.J. Yeldon that put them up 21-0.

The Steelers were down a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and had fourth-and-inches at the Jacksonville 39. Roethlisberger checked at the line of scrimmage, faked a handoff to Bell and instead threw incomplete to diving rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster.

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The Jaguars travel to New England, where they were beaten in the 1996 AFC title game.

The Steelers, despite tying for the league’s best record, head home.

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Jacksonville

Jaguars Maul The Patriots 35-6

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Jaguars vs. Patriots (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Florida National News) – The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) beat the New England Patriots (1-2) 35-6 at EverBank Stadium today. The Jaguars have now won six consecutive home games dating back to November 16, 2025. The Jaguars lost their nine game regular season winning streak last week in Denver with their 20-13 loss to the Broncos.

The first quarter was a defensive battle, highlighted by the Jaguars sacking Patriots QB Drake Maye to force a fumble, which was recovered by NT DaVon Hamilton. But neither team put points on the board.

Early in the second quarter, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence found WR Josh Cameron in the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown, followed by K Cam Little’s extra point, to put the Jags ahead 7-0. Soon after, it looked as though Maye had scrambled into the end zone for a 21 yard touchdown run, but that play was nullified by an offensive holding penalty by Patriots RT Morgan Moses. They did manage to score on a 35 yard field goal by K Andy Borregales, to narrow their deficit to 7-3. But the Jags extended their lead as Lawrence completed a 10 yard pass for WR Jakobi Meyers’ 25th career touchdown pass. That was also Lawrence’s 104th passing touchdown of his career, moving him past QB Blake Bortles for sole possession of second place on the Jaguars all-time list. QB Mark Brunell currently holds the team record with 144. After Little’s extra point, the Jags were up 14-3. The Patriots came close to scoring late in the second quarter, but Jaguars CB Travis Hunter had his first career interception, grabbing a pass by Maye intended for WR Efton Chism III in the end zone. The Jaguars gave Cam Little an opportunity to break his own NFL regular season record with a 70 yard field goal attempt, but it went wide right. The score remained 14-3 at the half.

Travis Hunter’s First Career Interception. (Photo Credit Arthur “Dell” Morgan)

On the Patriots first drive of the third quarter, Borregales attempted a 38 yard field goal, but it went wide right. Late in the quarter, Lawrence completed a 17 yard touchdown pass to WR Parker Washington, followed by Little’s XP, extending the lead to 21-3. As the Patriots took possession, Jaguars CB Jarrian Jones intercepted a Drake Maye pass intended for WR Kyle Williams. On the next play, RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. ran for a five yard touchdown. After another Little XP, the Jags were up 28-3 at the end of the third.

Early in the fourth quarter, Borregales redeemed himself with a 40 yard field goal, but the Pats remained down 28-6. The Jags added to their lead as RB Bhayshul Tuten ran for a 1 yard touchdown, and with Little’s extra point they finished the game up 35-6.

Trevor Lawrence finished with 182 passing yards and 3 TDs. Bhayshul Tuten led the Jaguars’ rushing with 73 yards and 1 TD. Jakobi Meyers was the leading receiver with 64 yards and 1 TD.

The Jaguars will be on the road for the month of October. They face the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday, October 4th at 1:00 p.m. Their next two games will be across the pond in London, where they’ll play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, October 11th at 9:30 a.m. EST at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Houston Texans on Sunday, October 18th at 9:30 a.m. EST at Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars have a bye for NFL Week 7, then return home to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, November 1st at 1:00 p.m. at EverBank Stadium. Be sure to follow www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

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Jacksonville

Jaguars Blowout the Browns 34-10

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Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Florida National News) – The Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) beat the Cleveland Browns (0-1) 34-10 at EverBank Stadium today. The Jags scored early and often in this dominant victory over Cleveland, extending their winning streak to nine games, which is now the second-longest regular season winning streak in franchise history.

Browns QB Deshaun Watson entered this game 7-0 against the Jaguars. This was also his first game since October 20, 2024, when he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Watson’s first drive of the game was ended by a Foye Oluokun interception. The Jaguars first drive ended with a 30 yard touchdown pass by QB Trevor Lawrence to WR Parker Washington, with K Cam Little adding the extra point, to put the Jags ahead 7-0. The Jags added another score on their next drive, as Lawrence had his 100th career touchdown pass, a 4 yard completion to WR Josh Cameron, for Cameron’s first career TD reception. Little added the XP, to put the Jags up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Jaguars next possession in the second quarter ended with a 47 yard field goal by Little, extending the Jaguars lead 17-0. On the Browns’ next possession, the Jags forced a fumble by WR KC Concepcion Jr., which was recovered by DE Josh Hines-Allen. Five plays later, Lawrence later completed a 14 yard touchdown pass to TE Brenton Strange, followed by another Little extra point, as the Jags moved ahead 24-0, which remained the score at halftime.

The Jaguars’ first possession of the third quarter ended with another score, as Lawrence found WR Jakobi Meyers in the end zone, completing a 32 yard pass, followed by another XP by Little. The Jags now led 31-0. The Browns finally put points on the board on their next drive, with a 26 yard field goal by K Andre Szmyt, reducing the deficit to 31-3. Little added a 40 yard field goal, putting the Jags ahead 34-3 at the end of the quarter.

Nick Mullens entered the game at Quarterback for the Jags about midway through the fourth quarter. Trevor Lawrence left the game with a QB rating of 150.6, his highest ever. The Browns did manage a 46 yard touchdown pass by Watston to WR Denzel Boston just after the two-minute warning, followed by Szmyt’s XP, making the final score 34-10.

Trevor Lawrence finished with 245 passing yards and 4 TDs. Bhayshul Tuten led the Jaguars’ rushing with 66 yards. Parker Washington was the leading receiver with 83 yards and 1 TD.

Trevor Lawrence also became only the fourth player in NFL history to record at least 100 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns before turning 27 years old. The first three were Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Cam Newton.

Today’s game also marked the return of WR/CB Travis Hunter, who missed 10 games last season with a torn LCL.

The Jaguars’ stadium renovations also continue all season long, with the team playing in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium for the 2027 season. For an update on this construction project, visit https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdPBZU-BqKC/?stkn=a2lrcXViMmx0aWJ5.

The Jaguars head west to Denver to play the Broncos on Sunday, September 20th at 4:05 p.m. EST. They return to EverBank to play the New England Patriots on Sunday, September 27th at 1:00 p.m. Be sure to follow www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

 

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Jacksonville

Jaguars Lose to the Bills 27-24 in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs

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Jaguars vs. Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Florida National News) – The Jacksonville Jaguars (13-5) lost to the Buffalo Bills (13-5) 27-24 at EverBank Stadium today in the AFC Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs. The Jaguars finished with nine more victories than last season, but fans are still disappointed that the miracle season has come to an end.

On Jacksonville’s second drive of the game, QB Trevor Lawrence threw a pass intended for WR Parker Washington that was intercepted by Bills LB Shaq Thompson. A couple of plays later, Bills QB Josh Allen was tacked by Jaguars DE Josh Hines-Allen, and Allen went to the Bills’ blue tent to be evaluated for a concussion, but was cleared to return. On the fourth down, K Matt Prater kicked a 50 yard field goal to put the Bills on the board 3-0, which was the score at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Trevor Lawrence completed a 3 yard touchdown pass to WR Brian Thomas Jr. and K Cam Little added the extra point, putting the Jaguars ahead 7-3. On the kickoff, the Jaguars benefited from a fumble by Bills RB Ray Davis that LB Devin Lloyd recovered. The Jaguars were on Buffalo’s 9 yard line when Trevor Lawrence tried to dive for a first down on 4th and 2, but came up a little short on the officials’ review. The Bills took possession and ended up scoring on Josh Allen’s two yard touchdown run, followed by Prater’s XP. The Jaguars managed to get into field goal position just before the half, but Cam Little missed a 54 yard field goal that hit the left upright, ending his streak of 20 consecutive field goals made, including a 67 yarder just last week which set the NFL outdoor record. The Bills were up 10-7 at halftime.

Matt Prater kicked a 47 yard field goal on the Bills’ first drive of the third quarter, extending their lead to 13-7. Cam Little redeemed himself with a 43 yard field goal on the Jaguars’ next drive, to narrow the Jags’ deficit to 13-10, which remained the score at the end of the third quarter.

Early in the fourth, Trevor Lawrence found Parker Washington in the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown pass, and after Cam Little’s XP, the Jags were ahead 17-13. But Josh Allen’s 15 yard touchdown pass to TE Dalton Kincaid, followed by Matt Prater’s XP, put the Bills up 20-17. The Jags responded with a 14 yard Lawrence touchdown pass to RB Travis Etienne Jr., and a Little XP, to put the Jaguars ahead 24-20. Josh Allen ran into the end zone for another Bills touchdown, followed by Prater’s XP with just over a minute left in the game, putting the Bills up 27-24. Trevor Lawrence threw a pass that was intercepted by Bills S Cole Bishop, effectively ending the season for the Jaguars.

Trevor Lawrence finished with 207 passing yards and 3 TDs. Travis Etienne Jr. led the Jaguars’ rushing with 67 yards. Parker Washington was the leading receiver with 107 yards and 1 TD. Today’s attendance was 70,250.

Today marked the Jaguars’ 17th playoff game in history. With today’s loss, they are now 5-3 in the Wild Card round, and 4-2 at home in the playoffs. Jacksonville beat the Bills in the 1996 AFC Wild Card round to win their first playoff game in franchise history.

The AFC Divisional Playoff schedule will be announced after the completion of this weekend’s playoff games. Be sure to follow www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

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