Jacksonville Jaguars, 45 Pittsburgh Steelers, 42
The Jaguars looked like a seasoned cold-weather, northern juggernaut with big offensive-line packages and RB Leonard Fournette rolling. Three predominately rushing drives resulted in a commanding 21-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. The Pittsburgh offense was the opposite, a frayed high-wire act who had gained only 1 first down with 1 INT to LB Myles Jack.
The thing about high-wire acts is that when they work, they astound! QB Ben Rothlisberger and his Miracle Show broke the shut-out with a dime TD into perfect coverage by CB A.J Bouye to the Amazing WR Antonio Brown. The Jaguars then punted. At 21-7, with the Steelers' offense awake, and Fournette now out with an ankle injury, viewers felt the inevitable Pittsburgh comeback on the horizon.
Bad Rothlisberger fumbled, recovered by Telvin Smith and returned for a TD. The 21-point Jacksonville lead was resorted! Then, Good Rothlisberger on 4th-and-11 with 32 seconds hit WR Martinis Bryant deep for a 36-yard over-the shoulder end zone strike. The 21-point lead erased. 28-14 and halftime.
Big Ben's Show took on the vicious Jacksonville defense, culminating in another high degree-of-difficulty 19-yard TD reception to RB Le'Veon Bell that any WR would envy. Now 28-21, viewers again resigned themselves to the inevitable Pittsburgh comeback.
The most surprising aspect of this game is not the magical Ben-to-Brown/Bell/Bryant moments but the Jaguars' offense and QB Blake Bortles continuing to drive and produce in the wild, terrible towel atmosphere with Fournette on one ankle To start the 4th quarter, Bortles took his deep shot to WR Keelan Cole for 43 yards. Fournette then punched in the 35-21 TD.
Rothlisberger and Brown responded accordingly- with their own dramatic 43-yard TD on 4th-and-5 again with perfect blanket coverage by All-Pro CB A.J Bouye. 35-28. Yet still, Jacksonville simply drove the ball again. A 40-yard screen to RB T.J Yeldon and yet another red zone conversion this one the classic Bortles-to-FB Tommy Bohanon connection. 42-28. The ol' ringleader Rothlisberger still had another one in him, another high-wire drive with a TD to RB Le'Veon Bell with 2:27 remaining. 42-35. A back-and-forth classic, with no lead changes.
The difference in degree-of-difficulty for the offenses was plain to see. Rothlisberger was performing miracles against the speed and tenacity of Jacksonville, while Jacksonville had their way with a weak Pittsburgh D all day. Perhaps it was for this reason that Coach Mike Tomlin opted for the onside kick which led directly to a Jacksonville field goal that sealed the game.
MVP : RBs Leonard Fournette and T.J Yeldon combined to reap the rewards of a Jacksonville O-line that dominated Pittsburgh's front 7. Sustaining the Jacksonville drives was the key ingredient to staving of Big Ben's Miracle Show.
Minnesota Vikings, 29 New Orleans Saints, 24
The Vikings had a blueprint first half for how to "Defend The North" (Super Bowl 52 is in Minnesota this year). QB Case Keenum moved the ball well for 17 points, a pair of TDs for each of RBs Jerrick McKinnon and Latavius Murray. The Vikings defense was impenetrable, even for Drew Brees.
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