Former NFL Draft number one pick Trevor Lawrence says "you couldn’t write a crazier script" after overcoming four first-half interceptions to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to the third biggest comeback in NFL playoffs history.

The Jags trailed the Los Angeles Chargers 27-0 late in the first half with Lawrence having thrown four picks, three to Asante Samuel Jr alone.

But the 23-year-old quarterback produced a champion's response, throwing touchdown passes on four consecutive drives to drag the Jags back to 30-28, before Riley Patterson's field goal clinched victory as time expired.

Lawrence finished the game with 28-of-47 passing for 288 yards, joining Ben Roethlisberger as the second player to have four touchdowns and four interceptions in a playoff game.

"You couldn't write a crazier script," Lawrence told NBC. "We said in the locker room, it's kind of how our season's gone. We're never out of the fight."

Jacksonville had trailed by nine points or more in five games this season before rallying for victory.

The 27-point rally was also the third largest in NFL postseason history, the largest being the Buffalo Bills' 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in 1992.

"I am kind of speechless, honestly, just to see what belief can do - to see when a team believes in each other what you can accomplish," Lawrence said.

"Playoff game, down 27-0 and we come back and win. We are always counted out of these games, and we don't care. We love it."

Wide receiver Zay Jones, who scored one of the Jags' four TDs, hailed the 2021 NFL Draft top overall pick for staying composed after his four first-half picks.

"I think from playing football, watching football, I know a lot of quarterbacks would’ve folded in that situation that he went through," Jones told reporters.

"For him just to be as poised and composed as he was, it showed another side of who we have on this team. I mean, that guy right there, standing right there, that's a special man."

The defeat ended the Chargers' season with head coach Brandon Staley lamenting their second-half fade where they only scored one field goal after leading 27-7 at halftime.

"Anytime you're up 27-7 at halftime and you've got four takeaways, and you end up winning the takeaway margin (5-0), you know, it's gonna be a killer," Staley said.

"I'm hurting for everybody in that locker room… We just didn't finish the game."

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel did not sense any nerves from rookie Brock Purdy in his playoff debut before throwing three touchdowns with a rushing score in Saturday's 41-23 Wild Card win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Purdy, dubbed Mr Irrelevant after being the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, stole the show at Levi's Stadium, becoming the first rookie QB to win a playoff game since Russell Wilson in 2012.

The 23-year-old quarterback finished 18-of-30 for 332 yards, becoming the youngest player in NFL history with 300-plus passing yards and three-plus touchdown passes in a postseason game, surpassing Dan Marino.

However, the game did not start so well for Purdy, whose first pass was almost intercepted in wet conditions, before starring in the second half after trailing 17-16 at halftime.

"I don't think there were any nerves at all," Samuel, who caught one of Purdy's three touchdown passes for a 74-yard score, told reporters.

"We kind of started off slow. We missed a couple here and there, but as the game slowed down and settled down for him, he knows the guys that he has around him to build him up.

"It started to slow down for him too in the second half and he went out there and played good ball."

Purdy, who had only been afforded his opportunity as the 49ers' starting QB due to injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, is now 6-0 as a starter.

"There was some emotion going into the game," Purdy said. "You could just feel it in the environment with the fans and our teammates like, this is win or go home.

"But once the game started, it was all, hey, it's 11-on-11, I've got to do my job. I've got to get it to the guys when they're in space and go from there. But we didn't make it more than what it was.

"You could feel it in the first half in terms of Seattle's playing really good football, it's playoff football, everyone plays their best football.

"I feel like that was just something that we had in the back of our minds too. But overall, it wasn't 'oh my gosh, we're in the playoffs, we got to get all tense or anything like that.' So we've just got to play our game and let everything else fall into place."

Purdy's 332 yards is the second most ever by a rookie in a postseason game, behind Wilson's 385 with the Seahawks against the Atlanta Falcons in 2013.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan added: "We just had to win the game and he's done a hell of a job. He's done it every time since. I have a lot of confidence in him."

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll remarked that Purdy's ability to keep plays alive made a major difference, finding Elijah Mitchell for a TD pass on a broken play in the fourth quarter.

"I don't know why we couldn't sack the guy," Carroll said. "We chased him all over the place. He's not noted for being the greatest scrambler, but he looked like Fran Tarkenton out there today."

Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James also took to Twitter to hail Purdy, writing: "Purdy got game!!!!!!!".

When told about the tweet, Purdy replied: "LeBron said that. Oh, that's sweet. That's awesome, that's so cool."

Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions in the first half of his playoff debut before spearheading the third biggest comeback in NFL postseason history as the Jacksonville Jaguars triumphed 31-30 over the Los Angeles Chargers in Saturday's AFC Wild Card Game.

The Jags, competing in the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season, were left stunned in the first half with the TIAA Bank Field crowd silenced, trailing 27-0 after a Chargers' defensive and offensive masterclass.

Lawrence responded to his disastrous start with four touchdown passes, including two in a rousing third-quarter rally, before Riley Patterson's last-second 36-yard field goal to clinch the win.

The Jags QB became the second player in NFL history to have four TD passes and four interceptions in a playoff game, behind Pittsburgh Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger in 2020 against the Cleveland Browns.

Regular season leading touchdown scorer Austin Ekeler ran in two TDs, while Justin Herbert connected with Gerald Everett on a TD pass before the home side had even hit the scoreboard.

Asante Samuel Jr, who had two interceptions all season, claimed three in the first half, while the Jags gave up another first-half turnover when Chris Claybrooks muffed a catch from J.K. Scott's punt. Jacksonville became the first team with five turnovers in the first half of postseason game since 1999.

But Lawrence, who completed only 10-of-24 passes for 77 yards in the first half, linked up with Evan Engram (93 yards on seven receptions), Marvin Jones Jr (29 yards on three receptions), Zay Jones (74 yards on eight receptions) and Christian Kirk (78 yards on eight receptions) for TDs, finishing the game on 28-of-47 passing for 288 yards. Lawrence also completed a reach-over two-point play to make it 30-28.

The Jags still trailed 30-28 at the two-minute warning with possession, before Travis Etienne Jr's 25-yard on fourth-and-1 set up Patterson's chip shot with three seconds remaining.

The San Francisco 49ers advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs with an 11th straight victory on Saturday, recovering from a rocky first half against the Seattle Seahawks in some style.

The 49ers, led by rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and backed up by a league-leading defense, had twice beaten NFC West rivals the Seahawks this season and clearly had momentum on their side heading into their Wild Card matchup.

But a 41-23 win at Levi's Stadium was not initially as straightforward as many would have imagined – or as the final scoreline suggests, as Seattle scored 17 second-quarter points.

Purdy trailed at halftime for the first time despite San Francisco making the stronger start. Kenneth Walker ran in for the Seahawks after Christian McCaffrey had caught the opening touchdown pass, then Geno Smith – another playoff debutant but nine years older than Purdy – connected with D.K. Metcalf for a 50-yard score.

The 49ers got back on track with a TD drive to start the second half, though, and their defense belatedly came to the party when Charles Omenihu forced a fumble that was recovered by Nick Bosa.

After zero turnovers and zero penalties in the first half, the Seahawks soon unravelled, unable to respond either when Purdy superbly sought out Elijah Mitchell in the endzone or when a pass to Deebo Samuel gave him space to race away for a 74-yard TD.

Smith swiftly threw an interception as Seattle waited until after the two-minute warning for their first score of the second half, while Purdy showed no signs of slowing his remarkable rise as he finished with 332 yards and three TDs through the air in his sixth straight win to start his career.

The 2022 NFL Draft's 'Mr Irrelevant' has extended the 49ers' winning streak to 11 – tying their third-longest of all time – and continues to look capable of carrying one of the league's most talented rosters all the way in this postseason.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is adamant the franchise is not ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers.

Having ended the season 8-9, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Rodgers will take time to decide whether to return in 2023 – or whether he will remain in Green Bay.

That leaves the Packers with uncertainty ahead of the new season, but they will not rush Rodgers on his decision, while Gutekunst feels he could look the veteran quarterback in the eye and tell him if they planned to move on.

That is not the case this time around, however, with the Packers keen to retain Rodgers for another season.

"You've got to be honest with him, you know what I mean? I think he deserves that if we get to that point. We're not at that point," he told reporters.

"We made a really big commitment to him last offseason, so I think as we did that it wasn't certainly for just this year.

"He's going to take his time, and the communication will be pretty constant as we move forward."

When Rodgers left November's loss at the Philadelphia Eagles due to a rib injury, Jordan Love came in to lead a pair of scoring drives late on, but Gutekunst made it clear who his preferred option to lead the offense was.

Asked whether it was Rodgers or Love who gives the Packers a better chance next season, he replied: "Well, I mean, you're talking about a four-time MVP, right?

"We are very excited about Jordan and where he's at, there's no doubt about that. But Jordan's never played a 16-, 17-game season and gone through all that stuff. So, it's no different than when we moved from Brett [Favre] to Aaron, right?

"That's a hard thing to say, but at the same time, where Aaron's at, the level he's at, there's not many teams he wouldn't give the best chance to win."

The Dallas Cowboys headed into Week 18 still in contention for the number one seed in the NFC, but a desperate display from quarterback Dak Prescott saw them instead end the regular season on a bum note.

Although wins for the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers elsewhere meant the Cowboys would have finished as the fifth seed regardless, any optimism and momentum built up over the second half of the season was sapped by a stunning loss to the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders, already eliminated from the playoff race, crushed the Cowboys 26-6, helped by the worst performance of Prescott's career.

His completion percentage of 37.8 (14 of 37) was a career low, as was a yards-per-attempt average of 3.46. Only twice had the QB previously dipped below his Week 18 passer rating of 45.8.

"There's a lot we can learn from and get better and use this tape," said Prescott afterwards, and past experience at least suggests that is likely.

On the previous four occasions Prescott has completed under half of his passes in a game, he has guided Dallas to a win in his next outing. Across those four subsequent games, Prescott has completed 80.7 per cent of his passes for six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Cowboys have won by 22.3 points on average.

A repeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round would represent a significant turnaround from the start of this season, however.

Prior to the Commanders game, Week 1 against the Buccaneers – a 19-3 loss – saw the most recent example of Prescott's pass completion dipping alarmingly, completing 14 of 29 attempts for 48.3 per cent.

On that occasion, a thumb injury ruled him out of the end of the game and then a chunk of the season before he was able to respond on his return.

The Cowboys went 8-2 over Prescott's next 10 starts, with both defeats coming in overtime. Dallas scored 351 points across that period, the highest-scoring 10-game span in team history.

Between Weeks 7 and 17, Prescott's 71.0 per cent pass completion led all QBs with 100 or more attempts. As only Patrick Mahomes (23) topped his 22 TD passes, the two-time Pro Bowler led the way for TD percentage (6.7).

But the Cowboys remained reluctant to rely too heavily on Prescott, running passing plays only 53.5 per cent of the time over this stretch – the sixth-lowest rate in the NFL.

This reluctance was understandable, too, given the clear warning signs ahead of that Washington game. Even without the ball regularly in his hands, Prescott threatened to derail his team.

His 13 interceptions were also a league high over those 11 weeks, meaning a pick six against the Commanders saw him end the year tied for the lead for picks (15) and pick sixes (three). Prescott played only 12 games to co-leader Davis Mills' 15.

Now, heading into the playoffs, Prescott is on a run of seven straight games with at least one interception. It is the longest such streak of 2022, while only five players have endured worse runs since he entered the league in 2016.

Prescott's careless aggression was already prompting murmurs from Jerry Jones before a Week 18 in which he averaged 10.9 air yards per attempt, up on his season mark of 8.2 air yards per attempt to that point.

He at least retains Jones' support heading into the playoffs, but the Cowboys owner will now want to see some return on a contract that pays Prescott $40million a year – in line with the deal signed by last season's Super Bowl-winning QB Matthew Stafford.

To this point, Prescott's playoff experience is made up of only four games and a single win.

In that regard, he stands at odds with his opponent this week. Tom Brady may have been unconvincing this year, too, with his 25 pickable passes third in the NFL, but he is the master when it comes to the playoffs.

Brady's 13,049 postseason passing yards dwarf not only Prescott's total (1,048) but that of every other playoff QB combined. The 13 other projected starters have a total of 9,184 playoff career passing yards.

The Buccaneers have looked likely to be accommodating postseason opponents for much of this year; they limped to the NFC South title at 8-9 and rank 17th by Stats Perform's efficiency versus expected model, with the 12-5 Cowboys seventh in EVE. There should be a clear favourite in this matchup.

But Brady has spent his entire career delivering in big moments, whereas Prescott crumbled last week.

The Cowboys may only ask their QB not to single-handedly cost them this game, yet Prescott still must prove even that is not beyond him.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay released an open letter on Friday highlighting his disappointment in their tumultuous season.

The Colts finished with the fourth-worst record in the NFL at 4-12-1 despite entering the year with "the highest hopes for a division title and a deep playoff run", according to Irsay.

It was the fourth season in a row the Colts came into Week 1 with a new starting quarterback, and when faced with a shaky 3-5-1 start and uncertainty at the position, Irsay made the decision to fire head coach Frank Reich.

That was the first time since taking control of the team in 1997 that Irsay had fired his head coach mid-season, and his next move raised even more eyebrows as he decided to bring in long-time friend and legendary former Colts offensive lineman Jeff Saturday as Reich's replacement.

Saturday had never been a head coach at any level prior to his appointment, and after winning his first contest in charge, Indianapolis closed the season on a seven-game losing streak.

In his letter, Irsay said: "I share your frustration. I can't stand losing, and I hate letting down our fans, and we had too much of both last year.

"But please know this – no one is more unsatisfied than I am. No one has higher expectations than I do. And no one wants to win for our fans and our community more than the people in our organization wearing the Horseshoe every day.

"So as I've always said, the responsibility for making us better ultimately falls on me, and our offseason work has already begun. That includes our search for our next head coach, preparing for an important draft in April and continuing to bolster the talented core of players already on our roster.

"No one can ever guarantee wins or losses. But as long as I'm owner, I can guarantee that winning championships will always be my goal, and I'll be doing everything I can to help get us there. That's what you deserve, and that's what we'll be working hard to deliver."

The Colts own the fourth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and pundits have speculated about whether they will take the gamble of trading up to number one or two to ensure they land one of college football's top quarterbacks.

The Los Angeles Chargers have suffered a painful loss on the eve of the playoffs as wide receiver Mike Williams was ruled out for two to three weeks.

Williams suffered a nonsurgical fracture in his back during the Chargers' Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos.

It was a game that had no playoff implications as the Chargers had already locked up their spot, and by playing his starters, head coach Brandon Staley drew criticism about what could have been an avoidable injury.

Responding to that criticism, Staley said he does not look at the situation that way.

"It's difficult to decide who plays and who doesn't and who is more valuable than the rest," he said. 

"What you are trying to do is set a standard for your program about how you do things. That is what I believe in, and I didn't want anybody to get hurt in [the game], regardless of their status, because everybody is important."

Williams has caught 63 passes for a team-high 895 yards this season, with a four-game absence due to a high-ankle sprain the only thing stopping him from eclipsing 1000 yards for the third time in four years.

The Chargers will go into Saturday's Wild Card contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars with Keenan Allen and Joshua Palmer starting out wide.

Super Bowl champion head coach Sean McVay has informed the Los Angeles Rams he will return for the 2023 season, the team announced on Friday.

McVay had been pondering his future following the conclusion of a difficult 2022 campaign that ended with Sunday's overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. 

The 2017 NFL Coach of the Year confirmed he was weighing up his options when speaking at Monday's end-of-the-season press conference.

The Rams dropped nine of their final 11 games to finish 5-12, the highest loss total in a season for any team defending a Super Bowl title, amid a mounting swarm of injuries to several key players that included quarterback Matthew Stafford, 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.

"I think what I liked to do is be able to take the appropriate time," McVay said on Monday. "I've never gone through anything like this, but you want to make sure that you're considerate of the people that are affected.

"That's the most important thing and you want to be able to have the consistent conversations and dialogues that have existed with the people that I love and really care about.

"But that doesn't mean it takes away the empathy, the level of responsibility that I do feel for the people that would be affected as it relates to my decision moving forward, and so those are the things that you don’t take lightly.

"You want to be able to make sure that you're intentional about taking the appropriate time, while also making a decision in a manner that's considerate of those people that would be affected."

McVay, who at age 36 became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with the Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last February, has four years remaining on a new contract he received prior to the start of this past season.

The Rams reached the playoffs four times in McVay's first five seasons in charge and won 55 regular-season games over that span, tying him with Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin for the third-most victories of any coach through his first five seasons in NFL history.

McVay is also the youngest head coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl after guiding the Rams to the title game during the 2018 season at the age of 33.

The Rams have compiled a 60-38 record with three NFC West titles during McVay's tenure, as well as a 7-3 mark in postseason play.

The Miami Dolphins are looking for a first playoff victory since 2000 when they travel to face the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's Wild Card clash, where two quarterbacks will be the talk of the town.

While the Bills will look towards Josh Allen, who has thrown just one interception in 228 career passing attempts in the postseason (0.4 interception rate, the lowest in NFL playoff history among those with a minimum 200 attempts), the Dolphins will be hoping to get by without Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed ahead of the game that Tagovailoa, who has not featured since Christmas Day, remains unavailable due to concussion – an issue that has plagued a turbulent season for the Dolphins.

With Tagovailoa leading the offense, the Dolphins are 8-4 in games he has finished and 1-4 without him, while a passer rating of 105.5 leads the NFL, ahead of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, and leading MVP candidate, Patrick Mahomes.

In Tagovailoa's absence, the Dolphins face a tough test in their bid to end a streak of four consecutive losses in the playoffs and will need Tyreek Hill to step up in their first postseason appearance since the 2016 season.

Hill smashed the franchise record for receiving yards this season, tallying 1,710 yards and becoming the first Dolphins player to register 1,400 receiving yards for the season, the next closest being Mark Clayton in 1984 with 1,389 yards.

The Dolphins' big worries for Sunday's clash will be Tagovailoa's absence and a lack of playoff experience, a complete contrast to the Bills, who have seen Allen continue to grow and have reached the playoffs in five of the last six seasons.

Only Mahomes (41) has thrown more touchdown passes than Allen (35) this season, though a tally of 14 interceptions is the joint next highest in the NFL behind Davis Mills and Dak Prescott (both 15).

Allen has thrown only one interception in his playoff history, however, with 14 touchdowns in the postseason, and averaged 10.3 yards per attempt in the 2021 playoffs – something the Bills will hope he can repeat this year.

A close game could be on the cards, though, with the Bills overcoming the Dolphins by just a three-point margin less than a month ago with a 32-29 victory in Buffalo, while the reverse clash in Week 3 saw Miami victorious 21-19.

That win was a significant one for the Dolphins, preventing a fourth consecutive series streak for Buffalo and standing as only the second win for Miami in the last 12 meetings.

It's time for the Wild Card round on the road to Super Bowl LVII.

Things kick-off on Saturday when the in-form San Francisco 49ers welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Levi's Stadium, while the Los Angeles Chargers travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A trio of games on Sunday see the Buffalo Bills host the Miami Dolphins, the Minnesota Vikings facing the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals going up against the Baltimore Ravens, before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys bring the round to a close on Monday.

Stats Perform has taken a look at the more pertinent stats heading into what should be another exciting three days of NFL action as the playoffs begin.

Seattle Seahawks (9-8) @ San Francisco 49ers (13-4)

This will be just the second playoff game ever between the Seahawks and 49ers (Seattle won the other in the 2013 NFC Championship Game).

The 49ers are on a 10-game winning streak, the 13th team in the Super Bowl era to enter the postseason on a double-digit winning streak. The previous 12 teams to do so were 7-5 in their first playoff game that season.

San Francisco won both regular season meetings but have never beaten a single team three times in one campaign (including playoffs).

Geno Smith led the NFL in completion percentage this season, becoming just the second Seahawk ever do so after Dave Krieg in 1991. With 30 touchdown passes, Smith became the third Seahawk to lead the NFC in that category, joining Matt Hasselbeck (2005) and Russell Wilson (2017 and 2018).

Christian McCaffrey has scored an offensive touchdown in each of his last six games, tied for the second-longest streak in the NFL this season. The last Niner to have a longer streak (including the playoffs) was Terrell Owens in 1998 (nine).

Miami Dolphins (9-8) @ Buffalo Bills (13-3)

The Dolphins have lost their last four games in the postseason, scoring just 24 points over those games. Only one team has scored fewer points over a four-game span in the playoffs in postseason history, the Giants from 1939 to 1944 (16 points).

Miami's hopes of improving on that poor record were reduced when starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) was ruled out of this playoff contest.

But they still have Tyreek Hill, who caught 119 passes for 1,710 yards this season – both career highs. No Dolphin had ever had more than 1,400 receiving yards in one season, with the next closest being Mark Clayton in 1984 with 1,389 receiving yards.

For the Bills, Josh Allen has thrown one interception in 228 career passing attempts in the postseason, the lowest rate in NFL playoff history.

This season, the Dolphins' offense led the league, averaging 6.85 yards on first down plays, while the Bills were third (6.13). The teams were close on defense on first down plays as well, with the Dolphins 14th (5.27 yards allowed per play) and the Bills 15th (5.39).

New York Giants (9-7-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (13-4)

This is the Vikings' 31st playoff appearance, currently tied with the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz for the most by any MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL team that has never won a championship.

Kirk Cousins finished with 25 or more TD passes and fewer than 15 interceptions for the eighth straight season. The only other QB in NFL history to have a streak as long is Tom Brady (10 straight, 2009-18).

The Giants are 8-2 in playoff games since the start of the 2007 season, the best record by any NFL team in that time. Four of the Giants' 16 previous playoff appearances in the Super Bowl era have ended in a Super Bowl victory (25.0 per cent), the highest percentage for any team.

Earlier this season, Daniel Jones became the second QB in NFL history to have 3000+ passing yards, 500+ rushing yards and no more than five interceptions in a season, along with Robert Griffin III in his 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.

Elsewhere...

This will be the Chargers' first playoff appearance since 2018, when they beat Baltimore before falling to New England. The Chargers have won at least one playoff game in four of their last five appearances. They are also 3-0 against AFC South teams in the playoffs since the division was created in 2002.

The Bengals have won eight consecutive games, which is tied for the longest win streak in team history. The Bengals are the only current NFL team without at least one winning streak of at least nine games in their franchise history (regular season and playoffs).

Buccaneers star Tom Brady has thrown for 13,049 yards in his playoff career, nearly 4,000 more than the combined career total for the other 13 projected playoff starting quarterbacks this season (9,184 combined passing yards).

The New England Patriots are aiming to fend off the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers by extending inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo's contract.

While Cleveland are looking for a new defensive coordinator after firing Joe Woods, while the Panthers want a new head coach.

There appears little appetite from the Patriots' side to let linebackers coach Mayo leave, however, with a team statement confirming talks on a contract extension were under way.

"The Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick have begun contract extension discussions with Jerod Mayo that would keep him with the team long-term," read a statement released to the media.

Mayo has spent his entire senior career with the Patriots since he was drafted by New England in the 2008 draft.

He retired in 2016 after three successive seasons derailed by injury, but joined the coaching staff in 2019.

New England also confirmed they are on the search for an offensive coordinator after a disappointing campaign saw them miss out on the playoffs.

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson believes a capable quarterback is the only thing missing from a team he called "loaded and ready to go".

The Jets boasted the fourth-best defense in the NFL based on yards allowed, but their offense could only finish 25th, hamstrung by mediocre quarterback play.

They tried to address their quarterback void by selecting Zach Wilson second overall in the 2021 draft, but after a horrific second campaign where he threw more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six), the Jets are not willing to persist with the 23-year-old as the starter.

Johnson addressed Wilson's struggles, and pointed to the instability at starter – as Mike White and Joe Flacco combined for eight of the 17 starts this season – as a reason for the dysfunction.

"Zach had a tough year, there's no denying that," he said. "I still have confidence that I've seen some kernels of real talent there. 

"[His] confidence level, whatever it was, went down, so that was certainly frustrating for him. And then we had that rotation, which is very hard to do in the NFL – changing quarterbacks."

He spoke about his willingness to reverse the fortunes of the offense in a similar fashion to the defense from a year ago, which was ranked as the league's worst in 2021.

"This team is loaded and ready to go," he said. "Our defense was an unbelievable story you saw this year, from last-place to close to the top in defense in terms of every measurable.

"If you can do the same thing on offense, it looks pretty good, right?"

The Jets are unlikely to enter the new season with another rookie under center, so to address their need, the Jets will need to either make a trade or venture into the free agent market.

The upcoming free agent class is headlined by the legendary Tom Brady and former MVP Lamar Jackson – players who will likely not come at a discount – but Johnson said he is willing to spend.

"Absolutely," he said. "We've got a cap, so there's an amount you can spend. But, yeah, that's kind of the missing piece."

When asked if he would give the coaching staff a playoff mandate, Johnson shot down the idea, saying it is not the right way to approach the situation.

"No, I don't do mandates," he said. "We've had a long wait. 

"Fifty-four years from the last Super Bowl is too long, way too long. I'd like to change that fast, but mandates don't work."

The NFL announced that Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host a potential AFC Championship Game between the number two seed Buffalo Bills and the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs.

In a statement released on Thursday, the NFL confirmed that the game would be played on Sunday January 29, with Atlanta only used as the venue if those two sides are matched up.

That came following the cancellation of the Week 17 game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter and went into cardiac arrest.

The NFL had already confirmed that in the event of a Bills-Chiefs' AFC Championship Game matchup that the contest would be played at a neutral site, given both sides played an unequal number of regular season games due to the Bills-Bengals' cancellation.

The Bills are due to host the seventh-seed Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Highmark Stadium in the Wild Card round, while the Chiefs have a bye and will face the lowest AFC seed remaining in the Divisional round.

"We are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in the statement.

"We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance. We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process."

Mercedes-Benz Stadium was opened in 2017 and has an American Football capacity of 71,000.

The Baltimore Ravens haven’t had starting quarterback Lamar Jackson on the field in over a month and it does not appear he will be ready to play Sunday's Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jackson missed his 17th straight practice Thursday and then posted on social media that his left knee "remains unstable," putting his availability for Sunday in serious doubt.

"Thank you everyone for your support and concerns regarding my injuries," Jackson posted to Twitter. "I want to give you all an update as I am in the recovery process. I’ve suffered a PCL grade 2 sprain on the borderline of a strain 3. There is still inflammation surrounding my knee and my knee remains unstable.

"I’m still in good spirits, as I continue with treatments on the road to recovery. I wish I could be out there with my guys more than anything but I can’t give 100% of myself to my guys and fans I’m still hopeful we still have a chance."

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has not officially ruled out Jackson returning Sunday, but he has not practiced with the team since December 2, and has not appeared in a game since a 10-9 win over the Denver Broncos on December 4.

With Jackson likely unavailable, Huntley would be in line to start, but he has been battling shoulder and wrist injuries that kept him sidelined for the regular-season finale at Cincinnati last weekend.

Huntley resumed throwing at practice Thursday and was officially listed as a limited participant. It was the first time since January 1 that he was seen throwing passes.

"He looked good," Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "It’s day-to-day. He’s making progress. We take stock on it every day."

Rookie Anthony Brown started the final game of the regular season and was 19 of 44 for 286 yards with two interceptions in his only career start, a 27-16 loss to the Bengals.

Baltimore went 8-4 and averaged 23.1 points in games Jackson started this season, and were 2-3 while averaging 13 points in games without him.

"Obviously, Lamar is Lamar," Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said. "You can’t replace that kind of guy, but I do still think that we have quarterbacks who can go out there and get the job done and play at a high level."

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