SCOREBOARD
Sunday Josh Lambo Jersey , Jan. 7
Buffalo at Jacksonville, 1:05 p.m. EST. The Bills (9-7) are making their first playoff appearance since 1999, ending a 17-year absence that was the longest for any team in the four major North American sports leagues. The Jaguars (10-6) are in the postseason for the first time since the 2007 season, and won their first division title since 1999. They’re coached by Doug Marrone, who was Buffalo’s head coach from 2013-14.
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Carolina at New Orleans, 4:40 p.m. EST. Two familiar foes cap wild-card weekend as Cam Newton’s Panthers (11-5) take on Drew Brees’ Saints (11-5) for the third time this season. New Orleans won the previous two meetings, with the victories bookending an 8-1 stretch for the Saints en route to the NFC South title. The Panthers will have tight end Greg Olsen, who missed the earlier matchups because of a foot injury.
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STARS
Passing
– Marcus Mariota, Titans, led three second-half touchdown drives, incredibly throwing one of his TD passes to himself, and the Titans rallied from a 21-3 deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 for their first playoff win in 14 years.
– Matt Ryan, Falcons, went 21 of 30 for 218 yards and a TD to lead Atlanta past the Los Angeles Rams 26-13.
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Rushing
– Derrick Henry, Titans, had a career-high 156 yards rushing and scored a 35-yard touchdown run.
– Devonta Freeman Brendan Langley Jersey , Falcons, ran for 66 yards and a TD on 18 carries.
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Receiving
– Julio Jones, Falcons, had nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
– Tyreek Hill, Chiefs, caught seven passes for a game-high 87 yards.
– Robert Woods, Rams, had 142 yards on nine receptions.
– Delanie Walker, Titans, had six receptions for 74 yards.
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Special Teams
– Matt Bryant, Falcons, booted four field goals – from 29, 51, 25 and 54 yards.
– Ryan Succop, Titans, kicked a 49-yard field goal.
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Defense
– Brian Orakpo Johnny Unitas Jersey , Titans, had 1 1/2 sacks.
– Deion Jones, Falcons had 10 overall tackles and a pass-defensed.
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STREAKS & STATS
With a 22-21 loss to Tennessee, the Kansas City Chiefs haven’t won a home playoff game since January 1994. … Atlanta’s 26-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams gave the Falcons playoff victories in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. … Atlanta won a road playoff game for the first time in 5,481 days. The Falcons’ last postseason road victory came in the 2002 playoffs, when Michael Vick’s Falcons defeated Brett Favre’s Green Bay Packers. … Tennessee won a playoff game for the first time in 5,117 days, beating Kansas City 22-21. The Titans’ last playoff win came on Jan. 3, 2004, when Tennessee topped Baltimore.
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MILESTONES
Los Angeles’ Cooper Kupp became the first Rams rookie to catch a touchdown pass in the playoffs since Torry Holt in the 2000 Super Bowl. … Derrick Henry became the third player in Titans history to have 100 or more yards rushing in a playoff game, joining Eddie George (twice) and Earl Campbell. … Alex Smith’s two TD passes against Tennessee put him past Len Dawson (seven) for the most in Chiefs playoff history with nine.
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COMEBACK KIDS
Tennessee became the third road team to rally from at least 18 points down to win a playoff game in NFL history. The Titans trailed Kansas City 21-3 at halftime before storming back in the second half to win 22-21. Dallas came back from 21-3 in the first half to beat San Francisco 30-28 in December 1972, and Detroit came back from 27-7 in the second half to beat San Francisco in December 1957.
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FROM ME TO … ME
Marcus Mariota capped a 91-yard TD drive to start the second half of Tennessee’s 22-21 win at Kansas City in bizarre fashion: He threw a TD pass to himself. His throw to the end zone was batted right back at him by Darrelle Revis, and Mariota hauled it in and dived for the goal line. It was the first time a player has thrown a TD pass to himself in the playoffs, and the first time in any game since the Vikings’ Brad Johnson during the 1997 season.
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PARTY POOPERS
Atlanta’s 26-13 victory ruined a celebratory night for the Los Angeles Rams, who rebounded from a rough homecoming season in 2016 with an outstanding debut year under 31-year-old Sean McVay, the youngest head coach to reach the playoffs in NFL history. A raucous crowd of 74 Tyron Smith Jersey ,300 packed the Coliseum on a crisp evening for the first NFL playoff game in the nation’s second-largest city since early 1994. Los Angeles went 21 years without pro football before the Rams returned last season, and the franchise emphatically ended a 13-year streak of non-winning seasons this fall with an inspiring run to the Rams’ first division title since 2003.
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COOP’S WHOOPS
Pharoh Cooper is headed to the Pro Bowl after his outstanding regular season as a kick returner, but the second-year pro’s misadventures in his playoff debut cost the Los Angeles Rams dearly. He muffed a punt that bounced off teammate Blake Countess in the first quarter, and Matt Bryant subsequently hit the Falcons’ first field goal. After Bryant’s second field goal later in the quarter, Cooper got stripped by Damontae Kazee during a kickoff return at the Rams 32, and the Falcons drove for a TD.
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SIDELINED
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce sustained a concussion on a wick In the months leading up to the 2019 Super Bowl, some of Atlanta's bare walls will get a makeover.
The city of Atlanta and the Super Bowl Host Committee have partnered with arts group WonderRoot to launch "Off the Wall." The project will create up to 30 murals focusing on Atlanta's past, present and future role in civil and human rights. The murals will transform the city in hopes of sparking a community-wide conversation, said Brett Daniels, chief operating officer of the host committee.
The initiative was announced Thursday at a press conference in front of a mural of civil rights giant U.S. Rep. John Lewis. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms noted the importance of the location: The mural is close the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. The streets surrounding the mural were the birthplace of Atlanta's civil rights movement, Bottoms said.
"Quite often art is a conversation starter," Bottoms said.
Although the Super Bowl is a one-time event in Atlanta, those involved with Off the Wall hope the event leaves an enduring legacy. In recent years, street art has popped up throughout the city. By focusing on human and civil rights as the content of the murals, Off the Wall hopes to create lasting conversations about issues affecting the city.
"There is no greater legacy than Atlanta's contributions to the civil rights movement Josh Ferguson Jersey ," WonderRoot executive director Chris Appleton said.
The artwork will begin appearing in the city this fall. A subcommittee is scouting locations and talent to produce the work, but officials said some of the murals will be downtown. Freedom University, an initiative that provides college prep and other services for immigrant students in the country illegally, will help in both the creation and installation of the art.
"Young people in this city have been leading the way for human rights," Freedom University executive director Laura Emiko Soltis said. She said they were "standing on the shoulders of giants," referencing leaders such as Lewis.
NFL players have sparked controversy and drawn criticism from President Donald Trump and some members of the public for kneeling during the national anthem. Although inspired by the way people are using their spotlight to promote human rights, Off the Wall was in the works before the anthem protests, Appleton said. The project has the support of the NFL, according to Daniels.
"This project was inspired by the way artists and other activists struggle for justice and equality for all," Appleton said, calling protests a powerful way to transform communities.
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