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."
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
OJ Simpson dies aged 76
OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.
News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”
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