JACKSONVILLE
Authentic Patrick Mahomes Jersey , Fla. — The NFL doesn’t do the Cinderella story
often, but one is coming when the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Buffalo Bills in
an AFC wild-card game on Sunday.
The question is, which is the Cinderella story?
The Jaguars (10-6) won their first-ever AFC South title, are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and will host their first playoff game since 1999
at EverBank Field. Jacksonville was an NFL-worst 17-63 over the previous five
seasons.
The Bills (9-7) were able to snap a playoff drought that dated back to 1999, winning the sixth seed and final wild-card berth with a win over Miami in the
regular-season finale.
The winner of Sunday’s game will become the playoff darling.
There are other notable storylines as well.
Jaguars first-year coach Doug Marrone coached the Bills in 2013-14 before opting out of his contract and walking away with a $4 million payout when
Buffalo changed ownership.
Marrone ended up missing out on an immediate head-coaching opening and was hired by former Jaguars coach Gus Bradley to be the offensive line coach.
Marrone served as the interim coach for two games last season after Bradley was
fired and was promoted to head coach last January.
Buffalo’s roster has changed over significantly since Marrone left. There are only six players on the roster that played under Marrone. The Bills have also
already fired the coach that succeeded Marrone — Rex Ryan — hiring first-year
coach Sean McDermott.
Marrone’s exit has come up before — at his introductory press conference last January and at the league’s scouting combine a month later when he acknowledged
his “mistake.” He tried to deflect questions as best he could on Monday.
“There has obviously been a lot of stuff out there,” Marrone said. “That stuff is done. It is over. I can’t put it any simpler than that. I am not going
to take away from my primarily responsibility to look back on a situation that
occurred three years ago. If I do that, then I shouldn’t be the coach of the
Jacksonville Jaguars. My job is to make sure I do the best job for this
team.”
The two teams also completed a trade prior to the deadline Oct. 28, with the Bills sending high-priced defensive tackle Marcell Dareus for a 2018 fifth-round
draft pick. The Jaguars had the worst run defense in the NFL when they made the
move and ended up finishing 21st.
“I just told him to be smart (on Sunday),” Marrone said. “The last two games, he’s played well. He looks like he’s becoming more comfortable with the calls
and what we do. Again, it’s hard to insert someone right away.”
The Bills don’t seem to match up well on paper. They rank 30th in sacks allowed and are 29th in total offense.
The Jaguars defense ranks first in the NFL in yards-per-play, pass defense and interceptions and is ranked second in total defense, sacks and scoring
defense.
They could be in line for another dominant outing, especially if Bills star running back LeSean McCoy can’t play after injuring his ankle in Sunday’s win
over Miami. McCoy has carried 287 times for 1,138 yards with six touchdowns this
season and has a team-high 59 catches for 448 yards and two scores.
McDermott would have a tall task in replacing McCoy. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is the team’s second-leading rusher with 427 yards and four touchdowns. Mike
Tolbert (247 yards) would likely fill in for McCoy, but is a plodding runner
compared to the electric McCoy. Marcus Murphy made his season debut on Sunday,
rushing for 41 yards. He has eight career carries in the NFL.
“You never replace a player like LeSean,” McDermott said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in Mike Tolbert and Murph and whoever else we put in the backfield.
They did a nice job this past weekend and I expect them to do the same moving
forward.”
McCoy did not practice Wednesday. McDermott did say McCoy is maximizing his treatment opportunities.
McCoy’s absence would put immense pressure on Taylor and the Bills’ 31st ranked passing offense.
“We want the best for Shady,” Taylor said. “If he’s healthy, we want him absolutely to be out there playing and giving us his all. If he’s not, we have a
tremendous group of guys in the backfield that would be able to step in and
carry the load. Of course, Shady’s a special playmaker. You miss him if he’s not
out there, but at the same time, we can’t use it as an excuse.”
Defensively, Buffalo ranks 30th in stopping the run. That should give the Jaguars offense hope after two consecutive losses to close the regular season.
The Jaguars lead the NFL in rushing offense and are fifth in scoring.
Point differential really separates the teams. The Jaguars are plus-149. That’s second best in the AFC behind New England and tied for third in the NFL.
Buffalo is minus-57. There are nine teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs
with a better number.
Still, the Jaguars have shown a penchant lately for turnovers — the stat that will be above all others on Sunday. Quarterback Blake Bortles has thrown five
interceptions the last two games and the team has committed seven turnovers in
that span.
“Everyone realizes it’s your last chance
William
Karlsson Jersey ,” Bortles said. “If you lose, you go home. It’s over. So
there’s no reason and no excuse to not play as hard as you can every single
play, but I think our guys do that on a weekly basis anyways and I’m excited to
go out there for this opportunity.”
The Jaguars finished Dellin Betances stole the show from Jonathan Loaisiga with his Gary Sheffield impersonation at the plate – even as the rookie
right-hander played stopper for the team with baseball’s best record.
Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the New York Yankees snapped a three-game skid with a 4-2 victory over
the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
All of which meant the Yankees could laugh about Betances’ first career plate appearance. Batting with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Betances
wiggled his bat like Sheffield as he took a strike from Yacksel Rios before
missing on two mighty swings. That drew chuckles from his teammates in the
bullpen.
”I liked to watch Gary and imitate his stance,” Betances said. ”I was trying to do some damage. I took some good hacks. I got my money’s worth.”
Betances said he hadn’t swung a bat in 12 years.
”I was hoping and praying it wouldn’t be my turn,” he said. ”I saw the ball good. Playing catch with Aroldis Chapman helped me out.”
Judge and the rest of the Yankees enjoyed watching Betances trying to make contact.
”It was fun, a pretty cool moment,” Judge said. ”I’m glad he didn’t get hurt.”
Loaisiga (2-0) didn’t allow a hit until Jorge Alfaro lined a single to right leading off the sixth. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings, throwing 86 pitches
in his third start after jumping from Double-A to the majors.
”I felt good from the start, was aggressive and attacked the zone,” Loaisiga said through a translator.
The Yankees, who were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, haven’t lost four in a row this season and own the best record in baseball (51-25).
”We just had to forget what happened in Tampa and get back on track,” Judge said.
Making their first appearance at Citizens Bank Park since beating the Phillies in six games in the 2009 World Series, it felt like home for the
Yankees. The sellout crowd of 44,136 was filled with fans cheering for the Bronx
Bombers.
Philadelphia’s Vince Velasquez (5-8) allowed two runs and three hits, striking out seven in six innings. He’s given up three runs or fewer in 11 of 16
starts.
David Robertson struck out Rhys Hoskins and retired Odubel Herrera on a grounder to leave runners at second and third after replacing Loaisiga in the
sixth. Hoskins didn’t immediately run to first after the ball bounced a few feet
away and appeared to exchange words with a fan after walking back out of the
dugout.
”He was a little frustrated in that moment,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Hoskins. ”Rhys always says and does the right thing, supports his
teammates.”
Robertson allowed Scott Kingery’s RBI single in the seventh and gave way to Betances for three outs. Chapman got the last four outs for his 23rd save in 24
tries. He entered with two runners on in the eighth and Carlos Santana flied to
deep left on Chapman’s first pitch. The lefty surrendered a solo homer to Maikel
Franco with two outs in the ninth.
Gleyber Torres had an RBI double in the first. Judge lined one out to left in the fifth to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a hard bouncer over drawn-in shortstop Kingery’s head for a two-run single in the eighth, extending the lead to 4-1.
I-95 RIVALRY
The Yankees improved to 14-14 against the Phillies, leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only team they have a losing record (6-7) against in the regular
season. New York also defeated Philadelphia in the 1950 World Series.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: All-Star C Gary Sanchez was put on the 10-day disabled list because of a Grade 1 right groin strain. Manager Aaron Boone said Sanchez could miss up
to four weeks.
Phillies: Right-handed reliever Edubray Ramos was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a right shoulder impingement.
UP NEXT
RHP Luis Severino (11-2, 2.24 ERA) goes for the Yankees and RHP Jake Arrieta (5-5, 3.42) takes the mound for the Phillies on Tuesday night. Severino has
never faced Philadelphia. Arrieta is 3-1, 3.83 in seven career starts vs. New
York.
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