Chargers

The NFL wild-card weekend rolls along Saturday night with the Jaguars hosting the Chargers in the 4 seed-5 seed matchup of the AFC playoffs.

The AFC side features two matchups between divisional opponents, as the Bills host the Dolphins and the Bengals host the Ravens. Here’s a rundown of the leading candidates, and why they deserve the distinction of Coach of the Year. Is Mahomes’ regular season EPA rate a good omen heading into the postseason? 1 seed in the AFC and the betting favorite to win Super Bowl LVII. After 18 weeks and 17 games, the NFL regular season has come to an end. His alignment with first-year head coach Doug Pederson has been a significant catalyst in his growth and the team’s sudden success. 1 pick in the 2021 draft took off as the Jaguars won seven of their last nine games, and he is validating the hype as the best QB prospect of the last decade. In reality, though, Kirk has lived up to a four-year, $72 million deal that ranks 19th at his position in average annual value, according to Over The Cap. But Allen has battled injuries all year and will now not have the benefit of Willims drawing attention away from him. The next-best trio, by record, lost 25 percent of the time. That’s the most such playoff teams in a single season in NFL history. [NFL](https://theathletic.com/nfl/) wild-card weekend rolls along Saturday night with the [Jaguars hosting the Chargers](https://theathletic.com/nfl/game/jacksonville-jaguars-vs-los-angeles-chargers/Ezxg4KqzvUgQQfqw/) in the 4 seed-5 seed matchup of the AFC playoffs.

The best Super Wild Card Weekend bets for Los Angeles at Jacksonville.

He's hit this number in three out of the past four games. The model enters Super Wild Card Weekend in the 2023 [NFL playoffs](/nfl/standings/playoffrace/) on an incredible 161-113 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. 1 seed [Kansas City Chiefs](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/KC/kansas-city-chiefs/). We can tell you the model is leaning Over the total, but to see everything the model has to say, He threw three against the Chargers earlier this year. It is also on a 15-6 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of this season. He entered the 2022 NFL season 232-204-10 against-the-spread since the start of the 2018 season. The Jaguars dominated the Chargers in blowing them out in Week 3, but this will be a lot closer. "This is a game featuring two of the best young quarterback in the league. Justin Herbert might throw for 500 yards on Saturday and that's because he'll be going up against a Jaguars defense that has surrendered the fifth-most passing yards in the [Justin Herbert](/nfl/players/2221960/justin-herbert/) and [Trevor Lawrence](/nfl/players/2967185/trevor-lawrence/) battled in Week 3 earlier this year, with the Jaguars leaving California with a 38-10 victory. [Los Angeles Chargers](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/LAC/los-angeles-chargers/) and [Jacksonville Jaguars](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/JAC/jacksonville-jaguars/) will face off on Super Wild Card Weekend on Saturday night, as the two will battle for a potential date with the No.

Evan Engram caught a touchdown pass over the middle with 24 seconds remaining in the first half to give Jacksonville their first glimpse of hope for the game, ...

Ekeler capped off the short drive with a six-yard touchdown run, his second of the day to give the Chargers a 17-0 lead. Ekeler scored a rushing touchdown just 1:27 into the game off the turnover. The Jaguars tried to convert a fourth-and-seven that ended with an interception for Samuel Jr. Jacksonville took possession with two minutes remaining in the second half, and were forced to risk a try on fourth and two. The story of the first half, however, was the Chargers defence against Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence. He completed just three passes of his first 12 tries, for 26 yards with a ghastly three interceptions.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Trevor Lawrence followed four interceptions with four touchdown passes — one of the most improbable turnarounds in NFL postseason ...

He was flagged for roughing the passer on a third-and-12 play — an incomplete pass — that helped Indianapolis beat Jacksonville in Week 6. "Coach believed in me on that fourth-and-1, to give me the ball. But he was the steady hand in charge after a debacle of a first half. Instead of facing third-and-13, the Chargers got 15 yards and an automatic first down. 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. Lawrence was downright dreadful to begin Jacksonville's first playoff game since losing in the 2017 AFC title game. He finished 28-of-47 passing for 288 yards, a shocker considering the way he started. I know I'm going to make the plays. "I didn't have a choice,'' Lawrence said. It capped a 27-point comeback, the third largest in playoff history. The Jaguars (10-8) won their sixth consecutive game and fifth straight at home — all five in come-from-behind fashion. We're never out of the fight.

It was at that time that the Jaguars capped off a 14-play, 89-yard drive with a Trevor Lawrence touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr. to make it a 27-14 game, ...

-- The Jaguars have continued to drive, now at the Chargers 34, and they went for it on fourth-and-7. -- The Chargers are continuing to move the ball well, now at the Jaguars 10-yard line following a side-arm pass from Herbert to Allen. The Jaguars have to find a way to open them up. -- The Jaguars defense stepped up in a big way there with a three-and-out for the Chargers offense. -- The Chargers take what probably should have been a free play and pick up another 13 yards to Joshua Palmer on a comeback route down to the Jaguars 8. -- Jamal Agnew tries to give the Jaguars a boost there, with a good return up to midfield. Following a punt forced by the Jaguars defense, Jacksonville muffs the punt as a player got hit on the helmet, and the Jaguars have it first and goal. -- The Chargers take a knee to kill the clock and head to the locker room up 27-7. Out of the shotgun, the Jaguars miss to Zay Jones, and it will stay a 10-point game. -- The Jaguars stack up the Chargers on the stretch run, and the Chargers will let the game clock run to triple zeroes going into the fourth quarter. -- On an incredible call, the Jaguars forgo the sneak for a split-I call to Etienne. The Chargers were offside, and the Jaguars decline.

NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe talks about the growth of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence ahead ...

Score Update: Chargers 27, Jaguars 7; 6:45 pm: Jaguars get their first points of the game with an Evan Engram touchdown. No more shutout. 6:43 pm: Jamaree Salyer (ankle) and DeAndre Carter (ankle) are questionable to return.

- 5:22 pm: Chargers take advantage of the early takeaway with an Austin Ekeler touchdown. Jaguars](https://www.si.com/nfl/chargers/news/chargers-jaguars-mike-williams-back-injury-news) Five minutes in and the Chargers have picked off Lawrence twice. - 5:40 pm: How about this start for the Chargers? picks off Trevor Lawrence as he forces a pass to beat the blitz. - Score Update: Chargers 7, Jaguars 0 - Score Update: Chargers 10, Jaguars 0 - Score Update: Chargers 17, Jaguars 0 - Score Update: Chargers 24, Jaguars 0 - Score Update: Chargers 27, Jaguars 0 This page will undergo updates in real time with information and analysis. - Score Update: Chargers 27, Jaguars 7

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars returner Jamal Agnew was active for the team's wild-card game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

[https://apnews.com/hub/nfl](https://apnews.com/hub/nfl) and [https://twitter.com/AP_NFL](https://twitter.com/AP_NFL) [Skip Advertisement] [Code of Conduct](https://www.thestar.com/about/community-guidelines.html). Receiver Kendric Pryor, cornerback Montaric Brown, cornerback Gregory Junior, linebacker De’Shaan Dixon and defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter were healthy scratches for the Jaguars (9-8).

Jaguars game-winning field goal completes comeback against Chargers on Saturday night.

grabbing three of four interceptions Lawrence threw in the first half and running back [Austin Ekeler](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3068267/austin-ekeler) converting two of those takeaways into touchdowns, quickly silencing an amped-up TIAA Bank Field crowd and enabling the Chargers to take a 27-7 lead into halftime. But the Jaguars responded with a run of their own, scoring a touchdown to close out the first half and then adding 24 more points for a historic comeback. His first pass was intercepted and he would go on to throw three more in the half, which made him the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw four interceptions in the first half of a playoff game (Gary Danielson and Craig Morton were the others). But that went out the window with the big deficit, though the Jaguars did try to run the ball between the tackles occasionally in the second half while going to the hurry-up offense. Lawrence became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw three interceptions in the first quarter of a playoff game, and at points in the first half had passer ratings of 0.0 and 0.6. They got a short field on two of Lawrence's four interceptions, and the Jaguars managed to pressure Herbert on only four of his dropbacks. Indeed, nothing went right for the Jaguars in the first 30 minutes. The Jaguars won that game 62-7 and sent Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino into retirement. It was the third-largest comeback in playoff history. [Trevor Lawrence](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4360310/trevor-lawrence) throwing four interceptions in the first half -- including three in the first quarter -- and then the Jaguars rallying from a 27-0 deficit to beat the [Los Angeles Chargers](/nfl/team/_/name/lac/los-angeles-chargers) on [Riley Patterson](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4243371/riley-patterson)'s last-second 36-yard field goal? [Justin Herbert](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4038941/justin-herbert) completed 15 of 24 passes for 139 yards in the first half. [Los Angeles Chargers](/nfl/team/_/name/lac/los-angeles-chargers) saw their postseason disintegrate in the second half as the [Jacksonville Jaguars](/nfl/team/_/name/jax/jacksonville-jaguars) stormed back for a 31-30 victory Saturday night.

The Chargers will want to quickly forget about their playoff loss to the Jaguars, but the ramifications could be big for the players and Brandon Staley.

The first half was as thorough a throttling as we’ve seen in a long time. His team was in a sneak formation but got the ball to him on the outside for a huge gain. The game was a goner. The 6-foot-6 Lawrence jutting his right arm across the goal line for a two-point conversion that put his team in position to win the game with a field goal. Jaguars running back Travis Etienne running around the edge for 25 yards on a fourth and one on the winning drive. [31-30 loss](https://www.latimes.com/sports/chargers/story/2023-01-14/chargers-blow-27-point-lead-jaguars-nfl-playoffs-recap) to the Jacksonville Jaguars to the chant of “Duuuval,” a haunting refrain in reference to the local county that surely echoed in their heads all the way back to the West Coast. Those are merely footnotes when it comes to the Jaw-dropper in Jacksonville. This is the toughest way to lose, in the playoffs.” One play at a time, all the way down the field. It’s going to be one play at a time.’ That’s what it took. “I knew it was going to take a lot to turn it around. [Chargers coach Brandon Staley](https://www.latimes.com/sports/chargers/story/2023-01-13/chargers-at-jacksonville-afc-wild-card-playoff-preview) already was under heavy scrutiny for playing his starters deep into a meaningless finale at Denver, a move that cost the team [star receiver Mike Williams](https://www.latimes.com/sports/chargers/story/2023-01-13/chargers-receiver-mike-williams-ruled-out-wildcard-game-against-jaguars).

The Jacksonville Jaguars came all the way back from one of the worst starts to a playoff game you'll ever see, with Trevor Lawrence shaking off four early ...

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a terrible start in the wild card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Then on the ensuing drive, the Jaguars got the ball down to the Chargers territory, but a throw on fourth-and-seven resulted in Asante Samuel, Jr. It went from bad to worse in the second quarter, however. He tried to fire a quick pass to Jacksonville's top receiver Christian Kirk in the slot, but saw his pass tipped and picked off by Drue Tranquill.

The NFL world reacts to the Los Angeles Chargers blowing a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Super Wild Card Weekend.

It was also the first time in NFL playoff history that a team was plus-five in the turnover margin and lost the game. Everything seemed balmy for the Los Angeles squad in the first half, as they forced Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence into four interceptions and took a 27-0 lead with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter. As if Los Angeles Chargers fans hadn't been tortured enough over recent years, on Saturday night, in their first playoff appearance since 2018, they had to watch their team blow a 27-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Riley Patterson kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to seal the third-largest comeback victory in NFL postseason history.

“Coach believed in me on that fourth-and-1, to give me the ball. But he was the steady hand in charge after a debacle of a first half. … We just didn’t finish the game.” I think from playing football, watching football, I know a lot of quarterbacks would’ve folded in that situation that he went through,” Jaguars receiver Zay Jones said. Teams with that turnover deficit had been 0-19 in the Super Bowl era. He finished 28-of-47 passing for 288 yards, a shocker considering the way he started. Lawrence was downright dreadful to begin Jacksonville’s first playoff game since losing in the 2017 AFC title game. 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. The Jaguars (10-8) won their sixth consecutive game and fifth straight at home — all five in come-from-behind fashion. Or the third. The No. Or the second.