document_title: 2017–18 NFL playoffs

question_text: who are the titans going to play in the playoffs

question_tokens: who are the titans going to play in the playoffs

text: 2017–18 NFL playoffs

text: Participants[edit]

text: Within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.

text:
Playoff seeds

Seed
AFC
NFC

1
New England Patriots (East winner)
Philadelphia Eagles (East winner)

2
Pittsburgh Steelers (North winner)
Minnesota Vikings (North winner)

3
Jacksonville Jaguars (South winner)
Los Angeles Rams (West winner)

4
Kansas City Chiefs (West winner)
New Orleans Saints (South winner)

5
Tennessee Titans (wild card)
Carolina Panthers (wild card)

6
Buffalo Bills (wild card)
Atlanta Falcons (wild card)

text: Bracket[edit]

text:
Jan 7 – Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Jan 14 – U.S. Bank Stadium

  5
  Carolina
  26

  4
  New Orleans
  24

  4
  New Orleans
  31

Jan 21 – Lincoln Financial Field

  2
  Minnesota
  29

NFC

Jan 6 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  2
  Minnesota
  7

Jan 13 – Lincoln Financial Field

  1
  Philadelphia
  38

  6
  Atlanta
  26
NFC Championship

  6
  Atlanta
  10

  3
  LA Rams
  13

Feb 4 – U.S. Bank Stadium

  1
  Philadelphia
  15

Wild card playoffs

Divisional playoffs

Jan 7 – EverBank Field
 N1
  Philadelphia
  41

Jan 14 – Heinz Field

 A1
  New England
  33

  6
  Buffalo
  3
Super Bowl LII

  3
  Jacksonville
  45

  3
  Jacksonville
  10

Jan 21 – Gillette Stadium

  2
  Pittsburgh
  42

AFC

Jan 6 – Arrowhead Stadium
  3
  Jacksonville
  20

Jan 13 – Gillette Stadium

  1
  New England
  24

  5
  Tennessee
  22
AFC Championship

  5
  Tennessee
  14

  4
  Kansas City
  21

  1
  New England
  35

text: Schedule[edit]

text:
Away team
Score
Home Team
Date
Kickoff
(EST / UTC–5)
TV

Wild card playoffs

Tennessee Titans
22–21
Kansas City Chiefs
January 6, 2018
4:35 p.m.
ABC/ESPN

Atlanta Falcons
26–13
Los Angeles Rams
January 6, 2018
8:15 p.m.
NBC

Buffalo Bills
3–10
Jacksonville Jaguars
January 7, 2018
1:05 p.m.
CBS

Carolina Panthers
26–31
New Orleans Saints
January 7, 2018
4:40 p.m.
Fox

Divisional playoffs

Atlanta Falcons
10–15
Philadelphia Eagles
January 13, 2018
4:35 p.m.
NBC

Tennessee Titans
14–35
New England Patriots
January 13, 2018
8:15 p.m.
CBS

Jacksonville Jaguars
45–42
Pittsburgh Steelers
January 14, 2018
1:05 p.m.

New Orleans Saints
24–29
Minnesota Vikings
January 14, 2018
4:40 p.m.
Fox

Conference Championships

Jacksonville Jaguars
20–24
New England Patriots
January 21, 2018
3:05 p.m.
CBS

Minnesota Vikings
7–38
Philadelphia Eagles
January 21, 2018
6:40 p.m.
Fox

Super Bowl LII
U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Philadelphia Eagles
41–33
New England Patriots
February 4, 2018
6:30 p.m.
NBC

text: Wild card playoffs[edit]

text: Saturday, January 6, 2018[edit]

text: AFC: Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Titans
0
3
7
12
22

Chiefs
14
7
0
0
21

text: at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

text:
Date: January 6, 2018
Game time: 4:35 p.m. EST/3:35 p.m. CST
Game weather: Sunny, 33 °F (1 °C)
Game attendance: 73,319
Referee: Jeff Triplette
TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (color commentator), Lisa Salters (sideline reporter)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

KC – Kareem Hunt 1-yard run (Harrison Butker kick), 7:07. Chiefs 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:56.
KC – Travis Kelce 13-yard pass from Alex Smith (Harrison Butker kick), 2:15. Chiefs 14–0. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 3:24.

Second quarter

TEN – Ryan Succop 49-yard field goal, 1:55. Chiefs 14–3. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:02.
KC – Demarcus Robinson 14-yard pass from Alex Smith (Harrison Butker kick), 0:03. Chiefs 21–3. Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 1:52.

Third quarter

TEN – Marcus Mariota 6-yard pass from Marcus Mariota (Ryan Succop kick), 6:31. Chiefs 21–10. Drive: 15 plays, 91 yards, 8:29.

Fourth quarter

TEN – Derrick Henry 35-yard run (pass failed), 14:08. Chiefs 21–16. Drive: 6 plays, 62 yards, 3:17.
TEN – Eric Decker 22-yard pass from Marcus Mariota (pass failed), 6:06. Titans 22–21. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:09.

Top passers

TEN – Marcus Mariota – 19/31, 205 yards, 2 TD, INT
KC – Alex Smith – 24/33, 264 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

TEN – Derrick Henry – 23 rushes, 156 yards, TD
KC – Kareem Hunt – 11 rushes, 42 yards, TD

Top receivers

TEN – Delanie Walker – 6 receptions, 74 yards
KC – Tyreek Hill – 7 receptions, 87 yards

text: The Tennessee Titans overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 22–21 and won their first playoff game since the 2003 season.

text: Kansas City opened the scoring on their second possession of the game. After Alex Smith connected with Tyreek Hill for 45 yards and Travis Kelce for a 27-yard completion, Kareem Hunt ran in for a one-yard touchdown. On their next drive the Chiefs drove 76 yards in five plays, with Smith completing a 26-yard pass to Hill and an 18-yard pass to receiver Albert Wilson. Following an 18-yard run by Hunt, Smith hit Kelce for a 13-yard touchdown. Smith finished the quarter with 154 passing yards, a career high.

text: In the second quarter, Tennessee advanced to Kansas City's 21-yard line before Marcus Mariota was intercepted by Marcus Peters, who returned the ball 28 yards to the Chiefs' 37-yard line. Following a punt, tight end Delanie Walker's 22-yard reception sparked a drive to the Chiefs' 22-yard line; but on third-and-4, linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Mariota and forced the team to settle for a 49-yard Ryan Succop field goal. The Chiefs increased their lead to 18 points by the end of the half, however, with a nine-play, 79-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard pass from Smith to Demarcus Robinson with three seconds left in the half. Kansas City went into halftime with a 21–3 lead, with more total yards (284 to 127) and more first downs (16 to 3).[3] Kelce did not return to the game due to an injury, while catching a 12-yard pass on the final drive.

text: Tennessee opened the second half with a 15-play, 91-yard drive that consumed 8:29 off the clock. On a third-down play from the Kansas City 6-yard line, Mariota attempted a pass, which was deflected by Darrelle Revis, back to Mariota, who promptly ran it in for a touchdown, making him the first quarterback to complete a touchdown pass to himself in a postseason game.[4] The Chiefs were forced to punt on their next drive, but Adoree' Jackson muffed the catch and Keith Reaser recovered for Kansas City. They were unable to capitalize on the turnover, however, as they lost two yards over their next three plays and Harrison Butker hit the upright from a 48-yard field goal attempt. Tennessee took the ball back and drove 62 yards in six plays, scoring on a 35-yard run by Derrick Henry on the second play of the fourth quarter to cut the score to 21–16 after a failed two-point conversion.

text: Again forcing a Kansas City punt, Tennessee drove 81 yards in 11 plays to take their first lead of the game. Mariota converted three third downs on the drive, completing a 9-yard pass to Walker on third-and-3, scrambling 17 yards for a first down on third-and-8, and then connecting a 10-yard pass to tight end Jonnu Smith on third-and-2. Eventually, Mariota finished the drive by throwing to Eric Decker for a 22-yard touchdown, giving Tennessee a 22–21 lead following another failed two-point conversion with 6:06 remaining. Kansas City then drove into Tennessee territory, but Alex Smith was sacked on third down by Derrick Morgan and then missed a pass to Wilson on fourth down with 2:09 left. On the second play of Tennessee's drive, Johnson recovered a Henry fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, but Henry was ruled down by contact upon review. One play later, Kansas City had one last chance to get the ball back on a third-and-10 situation. Mariota handed the ball off to Henry, who started to run to the middle, but then switched direction and ran to the left. Aided by a key block from Mariota against linebacker Frank Zombo, Henry raced 22 yards down the left sideline for a game-clinching first down, and the Titans ran out the rest of the clock,[5] having held the Chiefs to 41 yards and three first downs in the second half.

text: Alex Smith finished as the leading passer with 264 yards and two touchdowns, but only 110 yards after the first quarter. Mariota threw for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first playoff start; his self-caught touchdown pass made him the first player since at least 1950 ever to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same playoff game.[4] Henry gained 156 yards on 23 carries and 191 total yards from scrimmage, while Hunt, the league's leading rusher during the regular season, gained just 42 yards on 11 carries. Chiefs coach Andy Reid faced criticism for not relying on Hunt to protect their lead in the second half, as Hunt only carried the ball five times after halftime.[3]

text: Tennessee became the first road team to erase an 18-point deficit to win a postseason game since the 1972 playoffs. The loss was Kansas City's sixth consecutive home playoff loss, extending a league record.[6]

text: NFC: Atlanta Falcons 26, Los Angeles Rams 13[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Falcons
6
7
6
7
26

Rams
0
10
0
3
13

text: at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

text:
Date: January 6, 2018
Game time: 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST
Game weather: Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 74,300
Referee: Ed Hochuli
TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentator), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

ATL – Matt Bryant 29-yard field goal, 7:13. Falcons 3–0. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:27.
ATL – Matt Bryant 51-yard field goal, 1:23. Falcons 6–0. Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 4:12.

Second quarter

ATL – Devonta Freeman 3-yard run (Matt Bryant kick), 11:34. Falcons 13–0. Drive: 8 plays, 32 yards, 4:41.
LAR – Cooper Kupp 14-yard pass from Jared Goff (Sam Ficken kick), 2:34. Falcons 13–7. Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 3:05.
LAR – Sam Ficken 35-yard field goal, 0:03. Falcons 13–10. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 1:12.

Third quarter

ATL – Matt Bryant 25-yard field goal, 6:45. Falcons 16–10. Drive: 16 plays, 76 yards, 8:15.
ATL – Matt Bryant 54-yard field goal, 0:19. Falcons 19–10. Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 4:52.

Fourth quarter

LAR – Sam Ficken 32-yard field goal, 10:49. Falcons 19–13. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 4:30.
ATL – Julio Jones 8-yard pass from Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant kick), 5:48. Falcons 26–13. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 5:01.

Top passers

ATL – Matt Ryan – 21/30, 218 yards, TD
LAR – Jared Goff – 24/45, 259 yards, TD

Top rushers

ATL – Devonta Freeman – 18 rushes, 66 yards, TD
LAR – Todd Gurley – 14 rushes, 101 yards

Top receivers

ATL – Julio Jones – 9 receptions, 94 yards, TD
LAR – Robert Woods – 9 receptions, 142 yards

text: This was the first NFL postseason contest held in Los Angeles since the end of the 1993 season, when the Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos in an AFC Wild Card game at the Coliseum. The win was the Falcons' first road playoff victory since 2002.

text: Atlanta got an early scoring opportunity when Blake Countess muffed a punt that Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds recovered on the Rams' 17-yard line, leading to Matt Bryant's 29-yard field goal. Then, after a punt, Atlanta receiver Julio Jones caught a 27-yard pass and rushed for 13 yards on an end-around play as the team drove 57 yards in nine plays to go up 6–0 on Bryant's 51-yard field goal. Damontae Kazee forced a fumble from Pharoh Cooper on the ensuing kickoff, which Kemal Ishmael recovered for Atlanta on the Rams' 32-yard line. This time, the Falcons were able to take the ball to the end zone, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by Devonta Freeman as a result of center Alex Mack literally dragging him across the goal line.

text: Late in the second quarter, the Rams finally managed to get on the board, sparked by a 26-yard run by Todd Gurley. Jared Goff finished the drive with passes to Cooper Kupp, the first for 15 yards, and the second a 14-yard touchdown completion that made the score 13–7. The next time they had the ball, only 1:15 remained in the half, but they were able to convert a 38-yard completion from Goff to Robert Woods into a 35-yard Sam Ficken field goal, making the score 13–10 at halftime.

text: The Falcons took up more than half the third quarter with their opening drive, moving the ball 76 yards in 16 plays. Freeman carried the ball six times for 42 yards, while quarterback Matt Ryan converted a fourth-and-1 with a 1-yard sneak. Bryant finished the possession with his third field goal, this one from 25 yards, increasing their lead to 16–10. After a Rams punt, Ryan's completions to Jones for gains of 12 and 16 yards set up Bryant's fourth field goal, a 51-yard kick, to put the team up 19–10. The Rams quickly struck back, with Gurley rushing twice for gains of 14 and 33 yards, along with Goff completing an 18-yard pass to Woods. Ficken's 32-yard field goal at the end of the drive cut the deficit to 19–13 with just over 10 minutes left. However, Atlanta came back with an eight-play, 83-yard drive featuring a 52-yard completion from Ryan to Mohamed Sanu. On the last play, Ryan's 8-yard touchdown pass to Jones put his team up 26–13. The Rams responded with one last drive to try and get back in the game, moving the ball to a third-and-goal situation on Atlanta's 5-yard line. Goff then threw a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Higbee, but the call was reversed by a review, as replays showed the ball hit the ground as Higbee was going to the turf. On the next play, Goff threw an incomplete pass, causing a turnover on downs with 2:05 left. The Rams received the ball one more time, but this resulted in another turnover on downs.[7]

text: Ryan completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, while Jones caught nine passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Goff finished the day 24-for-45 for 259 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Woods, who caught nine passes for 142 yards. Gurley was the game's top rusher with 101 yards on 14 carries, while also catching four passes for 10 yards.

text: Sunday, January 7, 2018[edit]

text: AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Buffalo Bills 3[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Bills
0
3
0
0
3

Jaguars
0
3
7
0
10

text: at EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

text:
Date: January 7, 2018
Game time: 1:05 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 53 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 69,442
Referee: John Hussey
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (color commentator), Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays.

Second quarter

BUF – Stephen Hauschka 31-yard field goal, 1:49. Bills 3–0. Drive: 18 plays, 71 yards, 8:06.
JAX – Josh Lambo 44-yard field goal, 0:02. Tied 3–3. Drive: 6 plays, 27 yards, 0:38.

Third quarter

JAX – Ben Koyack 1-yard pass from Blake Bortles (Josh Lambo kick), 0:42. Jaguars 10–3. Drive: 15 plays, 86 yards, 8:52.

Fourth quarter

No scoring plays.

Top passers

BUF – Tyrod Taylor – 17/37, 134 yards, INT
JAX – Blake Bortles – 12/23, 87 yards, TD

Top rushers

BUF – LeSean McCoy – 19 rushes, 75 yards
JAX – Blake Bortles – 10 rushes, 88 yards

Top receivers

BUF – LeSean McCoy – 6 receptions, 44 yards
JAX – Dede Westbrook – 5 receptions, 48 yards

text: This was the Jaguars' first playoff appearance since 2007, and their first home playoff game since the 1999 AFC Championship, which they lost to the Tennessee Titans. It was also Buffalo's first playoff game since they also lost to the Titans in the same season, ending the longest playoff drought among any team in the four major professional leagues in North America. In the lowest scoring NFL postseason game since the 1997 season, Jacksonville's 15-play, 86-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter was enough to propel them to victory. the Bills playoff drought lasted Eighteen seasons, that drought is over, but the Bills not winning a playoff game drought is not over yet.

text: Every drive in the first quarter ended in a punt. Early in the second quarter, Jacksonville got a chance to score when Aaron Colvin intercepted a pass from Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor on the Buffalo 35-yard line. However, the team lost three yards over the next three plays and decided to punt rather than risk a long field goal. From there, Buffalo took up nearly all the remaining time in the quarter, driving all the way to the Jaguars' 1-yard line. However, an offensive pass interference penalty against receiver Kelvin Benjamin pushed them back 10 yards and they ended up settling for a 31-yard Steven Hauschka field goal to take a 3–0 lead with 1:49 left in the half. After an exchange of punts, Jacksonville got the ball on their own 47-yard line with 40 seconds left, and quarterback Blake Bortles scrambled twice for gains of 20 and 12 yards to set up Josh Lambo's 44-yard field goal, tying the score at halftime.

text: On the Jaguars' second possession of the second half, they drove 86 yards in 15 plays to take a 10–3 lead. The key player of the drive was running back Leonard Fournette, who carried the ball eight times for 33 yards and caught a pass for 12 yards. Eventually the team faced fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line, and decided to go for the touchdown, which paid off as Bortles threw a pass to tight end Ben Koyack for the score with 42 seconds left in the third quarter. Jacksonville's defense then locked the Bills down in the fourth quarter, forcing three punts and an interception by Jalen Ramsey on the Jaguars' 48-yard line with 26 seconds left.[8]

text: Bortles completed only 12 of 23 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, but was also the game's leading rusher with 88 yards on the ground. Bills running back LeSean McCoy rushed for 75 yards and caught six passes for 44 yards.

text: NFC: New Orleans Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 26[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Panthers
0
9
3
14
26

Saints
7
14
3
7
31

text: at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

text:
Date: January 7, 2018
Game time: 4:40 p.m. EST/3:40 p.m. CST
Game weather: Played indoors (domed stadium)
Game attendance: 73,186
Referee: Tony Corrente
TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Erin Andrews and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

NO – Ted Ginn Jr. 80-yard pass from Drew Brees (Wil Lutz kick), 1:46. Saints 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:18.

Second quarter

CAR – Graham Gano 27-yard field goal, 14:12. Saints 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 66 yards, 2:34.
NO – Josh Hill 9-yard pass from Drew Brees (Wil Lutz kick), 9:04. Saints 14–3. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:08.
CAR – Graham Gano 39-yard field goal, 2:47. Saints 14–6. Drive: 12 plays, 54 yards, 6:17.
NO – Zach Line 1-yard run (Wil Lutz kick), 0:43. Saints 21–6. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:04.
CAR – Graham Gano 58-yard field goal, 0:00. Saints 21–9. Drive: 5 plays, 35 yards, 0:43.

Third quarter

CAR – Graham Gano 29-yard field goal, 10:58. Saints 21–12. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 4:02.
NO – Wil Lutz 57-yard field goal, 6:05. Saints 24–12. Drive: 10 plays, 36 yards, 4:53.

Fourth quarter

CAR – Greg Olsen 14-yard pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano kick), 12:47. Saints 24–19. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:45.
NO – Alvin Kamara 2-yard run (Wil Lutz kick), 5:08. Saints 31–19. Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 3:02.
CAR – Christian McCaffrey 56-yard pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano kick), 4:09. Saints 31–26. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:59.

Top passers

CAR – Cam Newton – 24/40, 349 yards, 2 TD
NO – Drew Brees – 23/33, 376 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

CAR – Jonathan Stewart – 11 rushes, 51 yards
NO – Alvin Kamara – 10 rushes, 23 yards, TD

Top receivers

CAR – Greg Olsen – 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD
NO – Michael Thomas – 8 receptions, 131 yards

text: This was the first postseason meeting between the Panthers and Saints. This was also the Panthers' first loss in the Wildcard Round, as they were previously 3–0 in this round. The Saints last appeared in the 2014 playoffs, where they lost to eventual Super Bowl XLVIII champions, the Seattle Seahawks,[9] while it was the Panthers' first playoff appearance since losing in Super Bowl 50.

text: Carolina had a chance to score on their second possession of the game, driving to a third-and-goal on the Saints' 7-yard line. But over the next two plays, Kaelin Clay dropped a potential touchdown catch in the end zone and then Graham Gano missed a 25-yard field goal attempt. On the second play after the missed field goal, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw a deep pass down the middle of the field to Ted Ginn Jr., who evaded a tackle attempt by James Bradberry and ran all the way to the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown reception. This gave New Orleans a 7–0 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.

text: Carolina responded on their next drive, converting a 22-yard completion from Cam Newton to Greg Olsen and a 39-yard pass interference penalty against defensive back Ken Crawley into a 27-yard Gano field goal that cut the score to 7–3. However, New Orleans responded immediately, with Brees completing passes to Michael Thomas for gains of 19, 8, and 13 yards, as well as passes to running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara for gains of 13 and 10 yards. On the last play of the drive, Brees put the Saints up 14–3 with a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Hill. Carolina struck back, with Newton completing a 19-yard pass to Brenton Bersin and converting a fourth-and-1 with a quarterback sneak. Gano finished the 54-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal to make the score 14–6 with 2:47 left in the half. Brees responded by completing 4 of 6 passes for 67 yards on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Zach Line, increasing the Saints' lead to 21–6. Taking the ball back with just over 40 seconds left, Newton completed a 24-yard pass to Devin Funchess. A few more plays moved the ball to the Saints' 40-yard line, where Gano barely managed to squeeze a 58-yard field goal inside the left upright, tying the NFL record for the longest field goal in postseason history.

text: The Panthers continued to chip away at their deficit with their first drive of the second half, as they moved the ball 64 yards in nine plays on a possession that featured a 29-yard run by Jonathan Stewart. Gano finished the drive with his fourth field goal, making the score 21–12. But New Orleans was able to respond, with Ginn catching two passes for 30 yards on a 36-yard drive that ended with Wil Lutz kicking a 57-yard field goal, bringing their lead back up to 24–12. With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, the Panthers started a 68-yard drive in which Olsen caught three passes for 54 total yards, the last one a 14-yard touchdown catch that cut the score to 24–19 after the two-point conversion failed.

text: Following a few punts, Brees' 46-yard completion to Thomas gave the Saints a first down on the Carolina 5-yard line, where they went on to score with Kamara's 2-yard touchdown run and go up 31–19 with 5:08 left. On the third play of the Panthers' next drive, Newton completed a short pass to running back Christian McCaffrey, who raced 56 yards for a touchdown, cutting the score to 31–26. New Orleans took the ball back and drove to a fourth-and-2 situation on the 47-yard line at the two-minute warning. Deciding to go for the first down, Brees threw a pass that was intercepted by safety Mike Adams, giving the ball back to the Panthers, though Adams' decision to intercept the ball instead of knocking the pass down ended up costing his team 16 yards. Carolina then drove to the Saints' 21-yard line. On second down, Newton was flagged for intentional grounding while throwing a pass to avoid a sack, bringing up third-and-23. Then after an incompletion, safety Vonn Bell sacked Newton, forcing a turnover on downs with four seconds left.

text: Newton finished the game 24-of-40 for 349 yards and two touchdowns, along with 37 yards on the ground. His top target was Olsen (eight receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown), who was one of four players in this game to have over 100 receiving yards. The others were McCaffrey (six for 101 yards and a touchdown), Thomas (eight receptions for 131 yards) and Ginn (four receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown). Brees was 23-of-33 for 376 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Bell had nine tackles – seven solo – and a sack.

text: Divisional playoffs[edit]

text: Saturday, January 13, 2018[edit]

text: NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 15, Atlanta Falcons 10[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Falcons
3
7
0
0
10

Eagles
0
9
3
3
15

text: at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

text:
Date: January 13, 2018
Game time: 4:35 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 32 °F (0 °C)
Game attendance: 69,596
Referee: Bill Vinovich
TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentator), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

ATL – Matt Bryant 33-yard field goal, 9:05. Falcons 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 5:32.

Second quarter

PHI – LeGarrette Blount 1-yard run (kick failed), 10:28. Eagles 6–3. Drive: 14 plays, 86 yards, 6:44.
ATL – Devonta Freeman 6-yard pass from Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant kick), 5:41. Falcons 10–6. Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:50.
PHI – Jake Elliott 53-yard field goal, 0:00. Falcons 10–9. Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 0:46.

Third quarter

PHI – Jake Elliott 37-yard field goal, 0:11. Eagles 12–10. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:42.

Fourth quarter

PHI – Jake Elliott 21-yard field goal, 6:02. Eagles 15–10. Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards, 7:57.

Top passers

ATL – Matt Ryan – 22/36, 210 yards, TD
PHI – Nick Foles – 23/30, 246 yards

Top rushers

ATL – Tevin Coleman – 10 rushes, 79 yards
PHI – Jay Ajayi – 15 rushes, 54 yards

Top receivers

ATL – Julio Jones – 9 receptions, 101 yards
PHI – Alshon Jeffery – 4 receptions, 61 yards

text: Philadelphia's defense recorded three sacks, held Atlanta to 281 yards – 83 below their season average – and stopped the Falcons on four consecutive plays after a first-and-goal on their own 9-yard line in the final minutes to preserve a 15–10 win.

text: The Eagles seemed primed to score on their opening drive when a 42-yard pass interference penalty on Falcons defensive back Brian Poole gave them the ball on the Falcons' 33-yard line. But on the next play, Ricardo Allen forced a fumble from Jay Ajayi that was recovered by safety Keanu Neal. Atlanta then drove 59 yards in 12 plays to score on Matt Bryant's 33-yard field goal, giving them a 3–0 lead. After the teams exchanged punts, Ajayi rushed four times for 26 yards on one drive and receiver Nelson Agholor ran for 21 yards on an end-around play as the team drove to a fourth-and-goal on the Atlanta 1-yard line. On the next play, LeGarrette Blount finished the 86-yard drive with a rush for the touchdown, putting the team up 6–3 with 10:28 left in the half; Jake Elliott hit the upright on his extra point attempt.

text: Atlanta had to punt on their next drive, but the ball bounced into Eagles blocker Bryan Braman and was recovered by Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds on the Philadelphia 18-yard line, where they went on to go up 10–6 with Matt Ryan's six-yard touchdown pass to running back Devonta Freeman. Following a punt from each team, Philadelphia got the ball on their own 28-yard line with 46 seconds left in the half. Quarterback Nick Foles then completed passes to Corey Clement, Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery for gains of 7, 20 and 15 yards, setting up Elliott's 53-yard field goal, which cut the score to 10–9 at halftime.

text: With just under six minutes left in the third quarter, the Eagles got the ball on their own 7-yard line due to a 39-yard punt by Matt Bosher. From there, Foles completed 5 of 7 passes for 70 yards – Jeffery caught three of them for 46 – on a 74-yard, 12-play drive to take the lead at 12–10 with Elliott's 37-yard field goal. Elliott's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving Atlanta good field position on their own 40-yard line. On the next play, the last of the third quarter, Ryan was sacked for a 10-yard loss by safety Rodney McLeod. The Falcons ended up going three-and-out, and their defense was soon back on the field trying to contain another long Eagles drive. This one went for 14 plays and 80 yards, 32 of them on a reception by Ajayi, taking 7:57 off the clock. Desmond Trufant managed to end the drive on the Falcons' 3-yard line by tackling Clement a yard short of a first down on third-and-3. However, Elliott kicked his third field goal on the next play, giving Philadelphia a 15–10 lead with 6:02 remaining. Atlanta took the ball back and drove to a first down on the Eagles' 9-yard line, featuring a 20-yard reception by Julio Jones on fourth-and-6. After throwing incomplete passes on the next two plays, Ryan threw a seven-yard pass to Jones on the 2-yard line. Then with 1:05 left, Ryan tried to connect with Jones in the end zone, but the pass went just through his hands, enabling the Eagles to get the ball and run out the clock.

text: Filling in for injured starter Carson Wentz, Foles completed 23 of 30 passes for 246 yards.[10] Ajayi rushed for 54 yards and caught three passes for 44 yards. Ryan completed 22 of 36 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. Jones caught nine passes for 101 yards, and rushed for 21 yards, while Tevin Coleman was the top rusher of the game with 10 carries for 79 yards,[10] while also catching a pass for 14 yards.

text: With the win, the Eagles won their first playoff game and advanced to their first NFC Championship appearance since 2008, and their first at home since 2004.

text: AFC: New England Patriots 35, Tennessee Titans 14[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Titans
7
0
0
7
14

Patriots
0
21
7
7
35

text: at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

text:
Date: January 13, 2018
Game time: 8:15 p.m. EST
Game weather: Clear and cold, 24 °F (−4 °C)
Game attendance: 65,878
Referee: Ronald Torbert
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (color commentator), Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

TEN – Corey Davis 15-yard pass from Marcus Mariota (Ryan Succop kick), 1:14. Titans 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 95 yards, 5:17.

Second quarter

NE – James White 5-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 13:18. Tied 7–7. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:56.
NE – James White 6-yard run (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 9:20. Patriots 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 1:56.
NE – Chris Hogan 4-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 1:52. Patriots 21–7. Drive: 16 plays, 91 yards, 5:18.

Third quarter

NE – Brandon Bolden 2-yard run (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 4:02. Patriots 28–7. Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards, 4:20.

Fourth quarter

NE – Rob Gronkowski 4-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 10:22. Patriots 35–7. Drive: 15 plays, 90 yards, 6:58.
TEN – Corey Davis 11-yard pass from Marcus Mariota (Ryan Succop kick), 1:55. Patriots 35–14. Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 3:53.

Top passers

TEN – Marcus Mariota – 22/37, 254 yards, 2 TD
NE – Tom Brady – 35/53, 337 yards, 3 TD

Top rushers

TEN – Marcus Mariota – 4 rushes, 37 yards
NE – Dion Lewis – 15 rushes, 62 yards

Top receivers

TEN – Eric Decker – 6 receptions, 85 yards
NE – Danny Amendola – 11 receptions, 112 yards

text: New England racked up eight sacks, 438 yards, and 31 first downs as they advanced to their seventh consecutive AFC Championship game.[11]

text: Midway through the first quarter, Tennessee drove 95 yards in 11 plays, featuring a 36-yard completion from Marcus Mariota to tight end Delanie Walker. Mariota finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis, who made a running one-handed catch in the back corner of the end zone to put the Titans up 7–0. However, the Patriots stormed right back, with Tom Brady completing five consecutive passes for 67 yards, the longest a 32-yard completion to Dion Lewis and the last a five-yard shovel pass to James White for a touchdown that tied the score. After a Tennessee punt, Brady completed three consecutive passes for 28 yards as the team drove 48 yards in six plays to go up 14–7 on White's six-yard touchdown run with 9:20 left in the half.

text: The next time New England got the ball, they had to punt after three plays, but a neutral zone infraction penalty on Titans defensive back Brynden Trawick gave them a first down. Taking advantage of their second chance, they ended up driving 91 yards in 16 plays to take a 21–7 lead on Brady's six-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan. Tennessee then drove to the Patriots' 46-yard line; on fourth-and-1, Derrick Henry tried to run for a first down, but defensive backs Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore tackled him for no gain. With 17 seconds left, the Patriots were able to get to the Titans' 35-yard line with time remaining, but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 53-yard field goal attempt as time expired. In the first half alone, Brady completed 21 of 31 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

text: In the third quarter, Brett Kern's 40-yard punt from his own 16-yard line gave the Patriots good field position on their 44-yard line. On the next play, Brady completed a 27-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, and the team went on to increase their lead to 28–7 with Brandon Bolden's two-yard touchdown run. The next time New England got the ball, they went on a 15-play, 90-yard drive in which they only faced two third downs. Brady completed seven passes for 78 yards on the drive, the longest a 25-yard throw to Danny Amendola, and finished it off with a four-yard touchdown toss to Gronkowski, making the score 35–7 with 10:22 left. Before the end of the quarter, the Titans were able to make it 35–14 with Mariota's 11-yard touchdown pass to Davis on fourth down at the end of an 80-yard, 16-play drive.

text: At 40 years, 163 days, Brady became the oldest quarterback ever to lead his team to victory in a postseason game, finishing the day 35-of-53 for 337 yards and three touchdowns.[10] Amendola caught 11 passes for 112 yards, while also returning three punts for 18 yards. Lewis rushed for 62 yards, caught nine passes for 79 yards, and returned a kickoff for 27 yards.[10] Linebacker Geneo Grissom and defensive tackle Deatrich Wise Jr. each had two sacks for New England.[10] Mariota completed 22 of 37 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns.

text: This game set the NFL postseason record for largest the age difference between opposing quarterbacks: Brady was 40 and Mariota was 24.[12]

text: Sunday, January 14, 2018[edit]

text: AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 45, Pittsburgh Steelers 42[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Jaguars
14
14
0
17
45

Steelers
0
14
7
21
42

text: at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

text:
Date: January 14, 2018
Game time: 1:05 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 18 °F (−8 °C)
Game attendance: 64,524
Referee: Brad Allen
TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (color commentator), Evan Washburn (sideline reporter)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

1st quarter

JAX – Leonard Fournette 1-yard run (Josh Lambo kick), 10:40. Jaguars 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 4:20.
JAX – Leonard Fournette 18-yard run (Josh Lambo kick), 5:26. Jaguars 14–0. Drive: 1 play, 18 yards, 0:05.

2nd quarter

JAX – T. J. Yeldon 4-yard run (Josh Lambo kick), 11:31. Jaguars 21–0. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:36.
PIT – Antonio Brown 23-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick), 8:20. Jaguars 21–7. Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 3:11.
JAX – Telvin Smith 50-yard fumble return (Josh Lambo kick), 2:20. Jaguars 28–7.
PIT – Martavis Bryant 36-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick), 0:25. Jaguars 28–14. Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 1:55.

3rd quarter

PIT – Le'Veon Bell 19-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick), 9:09. Jaguars 28–21. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:51.

4th quarter

JAX – Leonard Fournette 3-yard run (Josh Lambo kick), 10:34. Jaguars 35–21. Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards, 2:10.
PIT – Antonio Brown 43-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick), 9:05. Jaguars 35–28. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:29.
JAX – Tommy Bohanon 14-yard pass from Blake Bortles (Josh Lambo kick), 4:19. Jaguars 42–28. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:46.
PIT – Le'Veon Bell 8-yard run (Chris Boswell kick), 2:18. Jaguars 42–35. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 2:01.
JAX – Josh Lambo 45-yard field goal, 1:45. Jaguars 45–35. Drive: 4 plays, 9 yards, 0:33.
PIT – JuJu Smith-Schuster 4-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick), 0:01. Jaguars 45–42. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.

Top passers

JAX – Blake Bortles – 14/26, 214 yards, TD
PIT – Ben Roethlisberger – 37/58, 469 yards, 5 TD, INT

Top rushers

JAX – Leonard Fournette – 25 rushes, 109 yards, 3 TD
PIT – Le'Veon Bell – 16 rushes, 67 yards, TD

Top receivers

JAX – T. J. Yeldon – 3 receptions, 57 yards
PIT – Antonio Brown – 7 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TD

text: Jacksonville built up a 28–7 first-half lead and held off a second-half Steelers comeback to win the fourth highest scoring NFL playoff game.[13]

text: The Jaguars drove 66 yards in eight plays on their opening drive, with Blake Bortles completing passes to tight ends Ben Koyack and James O'Shaughnessy for gains of 21 and 19 yards on the way to a one-yard fourth-down touchdown run by Leonard Fournette. Later in the first quarter, linebacker Myles Jack intercepted a pass from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the Pittsburgh 18-yard line, and Fournette increased Jacksonville's lead to 14–0 with a touchdown run on the next play. The Steelers responded with a drive to the Jacksonville 21-yard line, but on fourth-and-1, running back Le'Veon Bell was tackled by Jalen Ramsey and Malik Jackson for a four-yard loss. The Jaguars then drove 75 yards in 11 plays and scored on T. J. Yeldon's 4-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 21–0 with just over 11 minutes left in the half.

text: This time, the Steelers responded with a 64-yard scoring drive, featuring a 21-yard run by Bell and ending on Roethlisberger's 23-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown. But the next time Pittsburgh got the ball, Roethlisberger lost a fumble while being sacked by Yannick Ngakoue. Linebacker Telvin Smith recovered the ball and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, making the score 28–7 with less than two minutes left until halftime. However, the Jaguars were penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration, and then Cameron Sutton returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Jacksonville 49-yard line. Pittsburgh went on to drive 51 yards and cut their deficit to 28–14 on Roethlisberger's 36-yard touchdown completion to Martavis Bryant with 25 seconds remaining.

text: The Steelers drove 77 yards in 10 plays on their opening drive of the second half, cutting their deficit to 28–21 with Roethlisberger's 19-yard touchdown pass to Bell. Early in the final period, the Steelers got the ball on the Jaguars' 48-yard line due to a deflected punt, but ended up turning the ball over with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1. On the ensuing Jacksonville drive, Bortles' 45-yard completion to Keelan Cole put them on the Steelers' 3-yard line, and Fournette ran the ball in for a touchdown on the next play, giving the Jaguars a 35–21 lead. This was the start of a scoring run from both teams, cumulatively totaling 38 points in the fourth quarter. After Fournette's score, Roethlisberger started the next drive with a 21-yard completion to Brown, and eventually ended it with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Brown that cut the score to 35–28. Jacksonville stormed right back, moving the ball 75 yards in eight plays, one of them a 40-yard completion from Bortles to Yeldon on third-and-5. Fullback Tommy Bohanon caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bortles with 4:19 left, giving the Jaguars a 42–28 lead. The Steelers responded by moving the ball 75 yards in 12 plays, the longest a 22-yard reception from Bell. Bell finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run, reducing his team's deficit to 42–35 with 2:19 to play. However, Pittsburgh failed to recover their ensuing onside kick attempt, resulting in Jacksonville getting the ball back on the Steelers' 36-yard line and leading to a 45-yard Josh Lambo field goal that put the Jaguars up 45–35. Pittsburgh then drove 75 yards in 10 plays, including a 42-yard completion from Roethlisberger to Brown. He ended up throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, but by then, one second remained.

text: Bortles completed 14 of 26 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. Fournette was the top rusher of the game with 25 carries for 109 yards and three touchdowns, along with two receptions for 10 yards. Setting several franchise playoff records,[14] Roethlisberger completed 37 of 58 passes for 469 yards – the second highest total in NFL postseason history, behind Bernie Kosar's 489-yard tally,[14] from January 1987 – with five touchdowns and an interception. Bell rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown, while also catching nine passes for 88 yards, while Brown caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Vance McDonald also went over 100 yards receiving, making 10 receptions for 112 yards. The Steelers lost despite gaining 545 yards of total offense, the most yards gained by a losing team in a playoff game (this record would later be surpassed by the Patriots in Super Bowl LII).

text: NFC: Minnesota Vikings 29, New Orleans Saints 24[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Saints
0
0
7
17
24

Vikings
10
7
0
12
29

text: at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

text:
Date: January 14, 2018
Game time: 4:40 p.m. EST/3:40 p.m. CST
Game weather: Played indoors (domed stadium)
Game attendance: 66,612
Referee: Gene Steratore
TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Erin Andrews and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

MIN – Jerick McKinnon 14-yard run (Kai Forbath kick), 9:45. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 4:15.
MIN – Kai Forbath 20-yard field goal, 4:42. Vikings 10–0. Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 2:27.

Second quarter

MIN – Latavius Murray 1-yard run (Kai Forbath kick), 9:58. Vikings 17–0. Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 6:08.

Third quarter

NO – Michael Thomas 14-yard pass from Drew Brees (Wil Lutz kick), 1:18. Vikings 17–7. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 6:40.

Fourth quarter

NO – Michael Thomas 3-yard pass from Drew Brees (Wil Lutz kick), 13:09. Vikings 17–14. Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 3:00.
MIN – Kai Forbath 49-yard field goal, 10:12. Vikings 20–14. Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards, 2:57.
NO – Alvin Kamara 14-yard pass from Drew Brees (Wil Lutz kick), 3:01. Saints 21–20. Drive: 4 plays, 40 yards, 2:20.
MIN – Kai Forbath 53-yard field goal, 1:29. Vikings 23–21. Drive: 9 plays, 40 yards, 1:32.
NO – Wil Lutz 43-yard field goal, 0:25. Saints 24–23. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 1:04.
MIN – Stefon Diggs 61-yard pass from Case Keenum (run failed), 0:00. Vikings 29–24. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 0:25.

Top passers

NO – Drew Brees – 25/40, 294 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
MIN – Case Keenum – 25/40, 318 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

NO – Alvin Kamara – 11 rushes, 43 yards
MIN – Latavius Murray – 19 rushes, 50 yards, TD

Top receivers

NO – Michael Thomas – 7 receptions, 85 yards, 2 TD
MIN – Stefon Diggs – 6 receptions, 137 yards, TD

text: Vikings quarterback Case Keenum's 61-yard pass to Stefon Diggs on the game's final play sent them to the NFC title game for the first time since the 2009 season and marked the first time in the NFL postseason that a game was won with a touchdown on the final play of regulation. The game has been referred to as the "Minneapolis Miracle."[15][16]

text: Minnesota dominated the first half, building up a 17–0 lead. The Saints had to punt on their opening drive, and Marcus Sherels returned the ball 19 yards to the Vikings' 45-yard line before being tackled by punter Thomas Morstead. The Vikings then drove 55 yards in eight plays, including a 22-yard catch by Jarius Wright on third-and-3, to score on Jerick McKinnon's 14-yard touchdown run. The next time they got the ball, two pass interference penalties on defensive back Ken Crawley gave the Vikings 54 yards on a 79-yard drive that ended with Kai Forbath's 20-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 10–0. Following two more possessions, Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo intercepted a pass from Drew Brees, giving Minnesota the ball on their own 42-yard line with 1:06 left in the first quarter. Keenum went 5-of-7 for 54 yards on a 58-yard drive that ended with Latavius Murray's one-yard touchdown run, giving the Vikings a 17–0 lead.

text: New Orleans responded with a drive to the Vikings' 14-yard line, but lost their chance to score when Brees threw a pass that was tipped at the line by Everson Griffen and intercepted by linebacker Anthony Barr. Then after a punt, Brees led the team to the Minnesota 30-yard line. But after two incompletions, Brees was sacked by safety Harrison Smith for a 10-yard loss, and Wil Lutz missed a 58-yard field goal attempt with 26 seconds left in the half. The Vikings would also get a field goal try before halftime, which resulted in Forbath missing from 49 yards out.

text: Minnesota took the opening kickoff and drove to the Saints' 30-yard line. However, in what turned out to be a crucial turning point, Keenum was sacked by Sheldon Rankins for a 10-yard loss on third down, pushing the team out of field goal range. New Orleans took the ball back and drove 80 yards in 12 plays, featuring a 23-yard reception by receiver Michael Thomas. Brees finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Thomas, putting New Orleans on the board at 17–7. Then on the first play after the kickoff, Keenum threw a pass that was intercepted by rookie safety Marcus Williams, who returned it 12 yards to the Vikings' 30-yard line. New Orleans then drove for another touchdown, scoring on Brees' three-yard pass to Thomas that narrowed the gap to 17–14 with 13:09 left in the game.

text: Minnesota responded with a seven-play, 44-yard drive that included a 27-yard completion from Keenum to Wright and ended on Forbath's 49-yard field goal that increased the Vikings' lead to 20–14. Furthermore, Saints coach Sean Payton lost two timeouts on the drive as a result of failed replay challenges. After forcing the Saints to punt, the Vikings ran the clock under six minutes before having to kick the ball back to New Orleans. Saints lineman George Johnson blocked the punt, enabling his team to take over on the Vikings' 40-yard line. From there, Brees completed four consecutive passes, the last one a 14-yard touchdown completion to running back Alvin Kamara, giving them their first lead of the game at 21–20 with 3:01 left. Undaunted, the Vikings stormed back, mainly on the strength of a 24-yard Adam Thielen reception, moving the ball to the Saints 35-yard line, where Forbath made a 53-yard field goal that gave the team a 23–21 lead with 1:29 remaining. Brees was able to answer, throwing an 18-yard pass to tight end Josh Hill, an 11-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr. and a 13-yard completion to Willie Snead on fourth-and-10. Minnesota eventually halted the drive on their own 25-yard line, where Lutz kicked a 43-yard field goal.

text: The Vikings were now down 24–23 with 25 seconds and one timeout left. After a touchback and a false start penalty put the ball on the 20-yard line, Keenum completed a 19-yard pass to Diggs on the 39-yard line, where the team promptly called their last timeout. Following two incomplete passes, they faced third-and-10 with 10 seconds left.[17] On the next play, Keenum threw a deep pass to Diggs near the right sideline, who made a leaping catch near the Saints' 35-yard line. Williams was in front of Diggs when he made the catch, but while trying to make a tackle, he completely missed Diggs and instead collided with Crawley, leaving the receiver with no one around him. Diggs nearly fell over at this point, but was able to stay on his feet by using his off-hand and stay in bounds as he ran all the way to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown completion to give the Vikings a 29–24 win. After several minutes of pandemonium, the Vikings knelt on the extra point try to close out the victory.[18]

text: Keenum completed 25 of 40 passes for 318 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Diggs was the game's leading receiver with six receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown. Like Keenum, Brees also finished the game 25-of-40, but for 294 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Kamara rushed for 43 yards, while also catching six passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

text: Conference championships[edit]

text: Sunday, January 21, 2018[edit]

text: AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 20[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Jaguars
0
14
3
3
20

Patriots
3
7
0
14
24

text:
Date: January 21, 2018
Game time: 3:05 p.m. EST
Game weather: Clear and cool, 48 °F (9 °C)
Game attendance: 65,878
Referee: Clete Blakeman
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (color commentator), Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

NE – Stephen Gostkowski 31-yard field goal, 9:21. Patriots 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 5:39.

Second quarter

JAX – Marcedes Lewis 4-yard pass from Blake Bortles (Josh Lambo kick), 14:15. Jaguars 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 3:36.
JAX – Leonard Fournette 4-yard run (Josh Lambo kick), 7:06. Jaguars 14–3. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 6:07.
NE – James White 1-yard run (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 0:55. Jaguars 14–10. Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 1:07.

Third quarter

JAX – Josh Lambo 54-yard field goal, 10:23. Jaguars 17–10. Drive: 9 plays, 39 yards, 4:37.

Fourth quarter

JAX – Josh Lambo 43-yard field goal, 14:52. Jaguars 20–10. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:49.
NE – Danny Amendola 9-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 8:44. Jaguars 20–17. Drive: 8 plays, 85 yards, 3:19.
NE – Danny Amendola 4-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 2:48. Patriots 24–20. Drive: 5 plays, 30 yards, 2:10.

Top passers

JAX – Blake Bortles – 23/36, 293 yards, TD
NE – Tom Brady – 26/38, 290 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

JAX – Leonard Fournette – 24 rushes, 76 yards, TD
NE – Dion Lewis – 9 rushes, 34 yards

Top receivers

JAX – Allen Hurns – 6 receptions, 80 yards
NE – Danny Amendola – 7 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TD

text: This was the first conference championship game to feature a team from Florida in 15 years (the Super Bowl XXXVII champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the 2002 NFC championship game). New England overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to earn the franchise's 10th Super Bowl appearance.

text: On the opening drive of the game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a 31-yard pass to Brandin Cooks and a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola on fourth-and-1 as the team drove 62 yards in 10 plays to score on Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal. Following a pair of punts, Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles completed two passes to running back Corey Grant for 44 total yards as the team drove 76 yards in seven plays to take a 7–3 lead on a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis on the second play of the second quarter. The next time they got the ball, Bortles completed all four pass attempts for 47 yards, one of them a 27-yard completion to Allen Hurns, as the team drove 77 yards in 10 plays to score on Leonard Fournette's four-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 14–3.

text: On the Jaguars' next drive, they moved the ball to a third-and-7 on the Patriots' 47-yard line. Bortles completed a 12-yard pass to Lewis that would have picked up a first down, but the team was flagged for a delay of game and Bortles was sacked by Adam Butler on the next play. New England got the ball on their own 15-yard line with 2:02 left in the half, and proceeded to drive 85 yards in six plays – 47 yards from Jaguars penalties – to score on James White's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 14–10. However, Jacksonville safety Barry Church delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Church drew a 15-yard penalty, and Gronkowski was escorted off for medical testing that determined that he had suffered a concussion.[19] Jacksonville got the ball back with 55 seconds and all three timeouts remaining, but chose to run out the clock and go to halftime, a choice that would later earn them criticism, as no team had deliberately run the first half clock out with more than 50 seconds left during the season.[20]

text: Jacksonville received the second half kickoff and drove 39 yards in nine plays, with 20 yards from a reception by fullback Tommy Bohanon. Josh Lambo finished the drive with a 54-yard field goal, increasing his team's lead to 17–10. Later in the period, the Jaguars advanced 66 yards in 11 plays, including 18 yards on a completion from Bortles to Marqise Lee on third-and-3. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Lambo scored with a 43-yard field goal, making the score 20–10. The game seemed to be slipping away from New England, particularly on their ensuing drive when linebacker Myles Jack forced and recovered a fumble from Dion Lewis on a trick play in which Amendola completed a forward pass to Lewis on the Jacksonville 33-yard line. However, the New England defense rose to the occasion and forced a three-and-out. Taking the ball back on the Patriots' 15-yard line, Brady started the drive with an 18-yard pass to Cooks, and then converted a third-and-18 with a 21-yard completion to Amendola on the 46-yard line. From there, Brady completed passes to Phillip Dorsett for 31 yards and Amendola for 14 yards before finishing the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Amendola, making the score 20–17.

text: Following a pair of punts, Ryan Allen's 35-yard kick pinned the Jaguars back at their own 10-yard line. The Jaguars lost one yard over their next three plays, and then Amendola returned Brad Nortman's 41-yard punt 20 yards to the Jacksonville 30-yard line with 4:58 left. From there, New England drove 30 yards in five plays, scoring on Brady's four-yard touchdown pass to Amendola to take a 24–20 lead with 2:48 left. After taking the ball back, Bortles' 29-yard completion to Dede Westbrook gave the Jaguars a first down on the Patriots' 38-yard line. But over the next two plays, Bortles threw an incompletion and then fumbled the ball while being sacked by linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Jacksonville tackle Cam Robinson recovered the fumble, but the team lost nine yards on the play, bringing up third-and-19. After a four-yard pass to James O'Shaughnessy, Bortles' next pass was swatted away by Stephon Gilmore, causing a turnover on downs with 1:47 left. New England got a key first down on third-and-10 with an 18-yard run by Lewis that let them run out the clock.

text: Brady completed 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, Cooks was the top receiver of the game with six receptions for 100 yards, while Amendola caught seven passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and also returning two punts for 24 yards. Van Noy had nine tackles – including five solo tackles – a sack and a forced fumble. Bortles completed 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown, while Fournette was the leading rusher of the game with 76 yards and a touchdown and Hurns was the Jaguars' leading receiver with six receptions for 80 yards.

text: NFC Championship Game: Philadelphia Eagles 38, Minnesota Vikings 7[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Vikings
7
0
0
0
7

Eagles
7
17
7
7
38

text:
Date: January 21, 2018
Game time: 6:40 p.m. EST
Game weather: Cloudy, 47 °F (8 °C)
Game attendance: 69,596
Referee: Ed Hochuli
TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Erin Andrews and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

MIN – Kyle Rudolph 25-yard pass from Case Keenum (Kai Forbath kick), 10:14. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:46.
PHI – Patrick Robinson 50-yard interception return (Jake Elliott kick), 6:26. Tied 7–7.

Second quarter

PHI – LeGarrette Blount 11-yard run (Jake Elliott kick), 13:37. Eagles 14–7. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:20.
PHI – Alshon Jeffery 53-yard pass from Nick Foles (Jake Elliott kick), 1:09. Eagles 21–7. Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 2:07.
PHI – Jake Elliott 38-yard field goal, 0:00. Eagles 24–7. Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 0:29.

Third quarter

PHI – Torrey Smith 41-yard pass from Nick Foles (Jake Elliott kick), 10:05. Eagles 31–7. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:55.

Fourth quarter

PHI – Alshon Jeffery 5-yard pass from Nick Foles (Jake Elliott kick), 14:10. Eagles 38–7. Drive: 12 plays, 92 yards, 7:11.

Top passers

MIN – Case Keenum – 28/48, 271 yards, TD, 2 INT
PHI – Nick Foles – 26/33, 352 yards, 3 TD

Top rushers

MIN – Jerick McKinnon – 10 rushes, 40 yards
PHI – Jay Ajayi – 18 rushes, 73 yards

Top receivers

MIN – Jerick McKinnon – 11 receptions, 86 yards
PHI – Zach Ertz – 8 receptions, 93 yards

text: This was the first time a Super Bowl host team had appeared in the conference championship. Although the Vikings scored with their opening drive, they were soon buried by Philadelphia, who racked up 456 total yards and 38 unanswered points. Meanwhile, the Vikings' seven drives after their game-opening touchdown would result in three punts, two interceptions, two turnovers on downs, and one lost fumble.

text: Minnesota drove 75 yards in nine plays on their first possession, taking a 7–0 lead with Case Keenum's 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph. The Eagles had to punt on their next drive, but after moving the ball to the 43-yard line, Keenum threw a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Patrick Robinson and returned 50 yards for a touchdown. Following a Vikings punt, Philadelphia drove 75 yards in 12 plays to take a 14–7 lead. Jay Ajayi started the drive with two carries for 20 yards, while Nick Foles converted a third-and-10 with an 11-yard completion to Zach Ertz and LeGarrette Blount finished the drive with an 11-yard rushing score on the third play of the second quarter. Later on, the Vikings drove to a third-and-5 on the Eagles' 16-yard line. But on the next play, Derek Barnett forced a fumble while sacking Keenum and defensive end Chris Long recovered the ball. Philadelphia then drove 76 yards in six plays, scoring on Foles' 53-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery to go up 21–7 with 3:16 left in the half. Following a punt, the Eagles got the ball on their 20-yard line with 29 seconds on the clock. Foles started the drive with an 11-yard pass to Ajayi, who managed to get out of bounds, before throwing a 36-yard completion on Ertz on the Vikings' 33-yard line. On the next play, Foles' 13-yard completion to Ajayi moved the ball to the 20 yard line with four seconds left, where Jake Elliott kicked a 38-yard field goal, making the score 24–7 at halftime.

text: The Eagles increased their lead to 31–7 less than five minutes into the second half, scoring with Foles' 41-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith on a flea-flicker play. The Vikings responded with a drive to a first-and-goal on the Eagles' seven-yard line. After three incomplete passes, Keenum threw a pass to Adam Thielen that was initially ruled a touchdown, but overturned to an incomplete pass after replays showed the ball had hit the ground, causing a turnover on downs. The Eagles took over and drove 92 yards in 12 plays, including a 42-yard completion from Foles to Nelson Agholor on third-and-5. Foles finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Jeffery on the second play of the fourth quarter, making the score 38–7. The Vikings had only two drives on the final period, one of them ending with a turnover on downs and another with an interception by Eagles defensive back Corey Graham.

text: Foles completed 26 of 33 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns, Ertz was the leading receiver of the game with eight receptions for 93 yards, while Jeffery caught five passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Ajayi rushed for 73 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards. Keenum finished the game 28-of-48 for 271 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, while Jerick McKinnon was the Vikings' leading rusher with 40 yards, and their leading receiver with 11 receptions for 86 yards.

text: Super Bowl LII: Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33[edit]

text:
1
2
3
4
Total

Eagles
9
13
7
12
41

Patriots
3
9
14
7
33

text:
Date: February 4, 2018
Game time: 6:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. CST
Game weather: Played indoors (domed stadium)
Game attendance: 67,612
Referee: Gene Steratore
TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
Recap, Game Book

text:
[show]Game information

First quarter

PHI – Jake Elliott 25-yard field goal, 7:55. Eagles 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 67 yards, 7:05.
NE – Stephen Gostkowski 26-yard field goal, 4:17. Tied 3–3. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 3:38.
PHI – Alshon Jeffery 34-yard pass from Nick Foles (kick failed, wide right), 2:34. Eagles 9–3. Drive: 3 plays, 77 yards, 1:43.

Second quarter

PHI – LeGarrette Blount 21-yard pass from Nick Foles (pass failed), 8:48. Eagles 15–3. Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 3:05.
NE – Stephen Gostkowski 45-yard field goal, 7:24. Eagles 15–6. Drive: 5 plays, 48 yards, 1:24.
NE – James White 26-yard run (kick failed, wide left), 2:04. Eagles 15–12. Drive: 7 plays, 90 yards, 2:57.
PHI – Nick Foles 1-yard pass from Trey Burton (Jake Elliott kick), 0:34. Eagles 22–12. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 1:30.

Third quarter

NE – Rob Gronkowski 5-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 12:15. Eagles 22–19. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:45.
PHI – Corey Clement 22-yard pass from Nick Foles (Jake Elliott kick), 7:18. Eagles 29–19. Drive: 11 plays, 85 yards, 4:57.
NE – Chris Hogan 26-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 3:23. Eagles 29–26. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:55.

Fourth quarter

PHI – Jake Elliott 42-yard field goal, 14:09. Eagles 32–26. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 4:14.
NE – Rob Gronkowski 4-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 9:22. Patriots 33–32. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:47.
PHI – Zach Ertz 11-yard pass from Nick Foles (pass failed), 2:21. Eagles 38–33. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 7:01.
PHI – Jake Elliott 46-yard field goal, 1:05. Eagles 41–33. Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:04.

Top passers

PHI – Nick Foles – 28/43, 373 yards, 3 TD, INT
NE – Tom Brady – 28/48, 505 yards, 3 TD

Top rushers

PHI – LeGarrette Blount – 14 rushes, 90 yards, TD
NE – James White – 7 rushes, 45 yards, TD

Top receivers

PHI – Nelson Agholor – 9 receptions, 84 yards
NE – Rob Gronkowski – 9 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD

text: Television coverage[edit]

text: All playoff games were broadcast nationally on network television.

text: ABC and ESPN simulcast 1 AFC Wild Card game, while CBS broadcast all other AFC playoff games. Coverage of the NFC Wild Card and Divisional rounds was split between Fox and NBC, with each network having coverage of one game in each of those two rounds. CBS had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game. NBC had exclusive coverage of Super Bowl LII.[21]

text: Playoff games TV ratings[edit]

text:
Rank
Game
Date
Matchup
Network
Viewers (millions)
TV rating[22]

1
Super Bowl LII
February 4, 2018, 6:30 ET
Philadelphia Eagles
41–33
New England Patriots
NBC
103.4
43.1

2
AFC Championship
January 21, 2018, 3:05 ET
Jacksonville Jaguars
20–24
New England Patriots
CBS
44.1
24.3

3
NFC Championship
January 21, 2018, 6:40 ET
Minnesota Vikings
7–38
Philadelphia Eagles
Fox
42.3
21.7

4
Divisional Round
January 14, 2018, 4:40 ET
New Orleans Saints
24–29
Minnesota Vikings
35.6
19.3

5
Divisional Round
January 14, 2018, 1:05 ET
Jacksonville Jaguars
45–42
Pittsburgh Steelers
CBS
31.4
18.3

6
Wild Card Round
January 7, 2018, 4:40 ET
Carolina Panthers
26–31
New Orleans Saints
Fox
31.2
17.5

7
Divisional Round
January 13, 2018, 4:20 ET
Atlanta Falcons
10–15
Philadelphia Eagles
NBC
27.1
15.5

8
Divisional Round
January 13, 2018, 8:15 ET
Tennessee Titans
14–35
New England Patriots
CBS
26.7
14.5

9
Wild Card Round
January 7, 2018, 1:05 ET
Buffalo Bills
3–10
Jacksonville Jaguars
25.3
15.2

10
Wild Card Round
January 6, 2018, 8:15 ET
Atlanta Falcons
26–13
Los Angeles Rams
NBC
22.8
12.8

11
Wild Card Round
January 6, 2018, 4:20 ET
Tennessee Titans
22–21
Kansas City Chiefs
ABC/ESPN
22.2
13.0


document_title: The Three Stooges (2012 film)

question_text: who played curly in the new three stooges movie

root

text: The Three Stooges (2012 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: The film is composed of three acts, which are referred to as episodes (a reference to how the original Three Stooges short films were packaged for television by Columbia Pictures).

tag: p

text: Act / Episode 1: More Orphan Than Not[edit]

text: Thirty-five years in the past, the children at the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage are playing soccer with an old soda can in the front yard. But then, Sister Mary-Mengele (Larry David), the meanest and strictest nun in the orphanage gets their attention by telling them to go inside and do their work. The kids sing "Everybody is Special", but she tells them to shut up and go to work. Later, infant versions of Moe, Larry, and Curly are dumped on the doorstep of the orphanage from an unknown person’s car. Ever since, the trio have wreaked havoc in the place, leaving the nuns who run it utterly terrified, especially Sister Mary-Mengele, who has always hated the trio. Ten years later, out of desperation, when a prospective couple comes to adopt, the exasperated nuns bring out the trio as being the only three available, eventually being forced to add a fourth when another boy, Teddy, enters the picture. The couple, the Harters (Stephen Collins and Carly Craig), decides to pick Moe, but when he requests Larry and Curly to join him, he is dropped back off at the orphanage, and they choose Teddy instead.

text: Twenty-five years later, in the present, the trio (Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso) are adults, still living at the orphanage and working as maintenance men. Monsignor Ratliffe (Brian Doyle-Murray) arrives to give everyone an important message. After Monsignor Ratliffe tells Mother Superior (Jane Lynch) that the orphanage is going to close, she tells Sister Mary-Mengele to get the trio. However, the trio accidentally injure Sister Mary-Mengele when she tells them that Mother Superior needs them. They head to Mother Superior until another on of their accidents causes Monsignor Ratliffe to fall on top of the nuns. Monsignor Ratliffe gets attacked by Moe, Larry, and Curly, who think that Monsignor Ratliffe was getting fresh with the nuns. Eventually, Monsignor Ratliffe informs everyone that the orphanage will be forced to close down unless they can come up with $830,000 in 30 days. The trio volunteers to go out and try to raise the money somehow. Some of the nuns think that they will not be able to succeed because the only people they know are nuns and kids, but Mother Superior thinks otherwise.

text: Act / Episode 2: The Bananas Split[edit]

text: A subplot involves a woman named Lydia (Sofía Vergara), who wants to kill her husband so she can be with her lover, Mac (Craig Bierko), and inherit her husband's considerable fortune. She then finds the trio and offers to pay them the money they need to take care of the hit job. They botch the job by letting Curly push Mac (the supposed husband) in front of a bus and leave Mac in traction in the hospital. When they try to visit Mac in the hospital to finish the job, they are chased by the cops throughout the hospital and escape by jumping off the roof using a fire hose. They end up running into a now grown-up Teddy (Kirby Heyborne), who invites them to his anniversary party, but Moe refuses. It turns out that Teddy is actually Lydia's husband. Their next scheme for raising the money is selling farm-raised salmon, with them scattering salmon on a golf range and watering them like produce. But the same cops from the hospital arrive at the golf course to arrest them and the trio are chased off the golf course and they hide in an old building (getting in by using Curly as a battering ram to bust down the door), where they have a slapstick fight. Larry then stops the fight, and he and Curly then scold Moe for rejecting Teddy’s invitation and Teddy's father's earlier adoption attempt; they could have used his adoptive parents’ wealth to help save the orphanage. Moe angrily yells at them by telling them that he doesn’t care and also saying that he didn't need them. After deciding to split up, they leave the old building, with Moe left inside alone. Then it turns out that they were all on stage in front of an audition crew who select Moe to be the newest cast member of Jersey Shore as "Dyna-Moe".

text: Final Act / Episode 3: No Moe Mister Nice Guy[edit]

text: Larry and Curly are getting along well without Moe, but they return to the orphanage, where they find out a girl named Murph is very ill, but has not been taken to the hospital because the orphanage has no medical insurance. Sister Mary-Mengele tells them that no one will insure the orphanage due to the trio’s numerous accidents & injuries over the years, and the $830,000 is needed in order to cover medical bills that accumulated over the years.Larry and Curly later meet up with Teddy's adopted father at his office to talk about what happened with the orphanage. Teddy's father confesses that Moe wanted him to go back for his friends to adopt them and he didn't want to so he gave Moe back and took Teddy in his place. Then Larry and Curly discover a picture of Teddy and Mr. Harter with Lydia and Mac and realize that Teddy is the husband that Lydia wanted to murder. In addition to this, they feel guilty for rebuking Moe in not accepting the Harter’s adoption and decide to go find him.

text: Meanwhile, Moe has been causing a lot of havoc on Jersey Shore by slapping the cast members around and not putting up with their spoiled antics. The cast go to the producer and tell him to kick Moe off of the show or sue him. The producer then informs them that the show is all about ratings…NOT them. Larry and Curly finally go to the set of Jersey Shore to reunite with Moe and they all head to the anniversary party where they show up to thwart the murder plot, getting in as balloon men. When they get inside, Curly gives all the balloons to a little girl and she floats up into the air. Later, they get chased by the angry Lydia and Mac after the same girl’s balloons are popped and she falls onto the wedding cake, destroying it. Moe, Larry, and Curly are chased into Teddy’s bedroom, finding Teddy on the bed, drowsy. Mac then draws a gun on the trio, but Teddy’s dad appears and tells Mac to put his gun down. Mac then says Lydia was “calling the shots," but Teddy’s dad confesses that he was “calling the shots.” The trio then realize that Mr. Harter was the real mastermind and Lydia was working for him. He married into the money and was incensed to find out the money was left to Teddy and not him when Teddy’s mother died years earlier. They are taken for a ride, but the car crashes into the water when Curly’s pet rat Nippy distracts them; then, they all escape when Curly passes gas, and they light it with “waterproof, strike-anywhere matches” that Larry had, causing enough of an explosion to blow out the windows. Once they are back on land, Mr. Harter, Lydia, and Mac are arrested, and Teddy thanks the trio for saving him. When the trio request the $830,000 from Teddy, he says no, stating he refuses to help the same orphanage that gave him up to a father that tried to kill him, as well as sending him to military school when he was seven, among other things over the years.

text: A couple months later, the trio return to the now-condemned and abandoned orphanage. They then start crying for feeling like failures, but then they hear kids laughing, swimming and playing. When they investigate, they find out a whole brand new orphanage was built next door, complete with a swimming pool, a basketball court, and a tennis court. They soon learn that the money came from the Jersey Shore's producers who consider this as an advance payment in relation to a new reality show, Nuns vs. Nitwits, in which the entire trio will take part. Murph is revealed to be perfectly fine and her illness was due to poison in the cheese (really from rat traps in the attic), though Larry has always suspected it was from too much iron in the water. Then she, along with her friends, brothers Peezer and Weezer (the latter thought to have been lost forever to a foster home), will be adopted by Teddy and his new fiancee, Ling (Emy Coligado), who was Teddy's father's secretary. In the end, after causing one more incident (namely, Curly accidentally knocking Sister Mary-Mengele into the pool with a folded-up diving board, causing the sister to scream, "I'm gonna mash your heads like potatoes!!"), the trio run away and bounce off trampolines out of the orphanage and onto some mules, on which they ride away from the orphanage, off into the distance.

text: Post-script epilogue[edit]

text: An epilogue consists of two actors (Antonio Sabàto, Jr. and Justin Lopez) playing Bobby and Peter Farrelly, explaining that the stunts were all done by professionals, showing the foam rubber props used in the film for the trio to hit one another, demonstrating the fake eye-poke trick (to the eyebrows), and advising children not to try any of the stunts at home.

text: During the end credits, a music video plays showing the Stooges and Sister Rosemary performing "It's a Shame", originally recorded by The Spinners in 1970, interspersed with excerpts from deleted scenes and a couple of brief outtakes. Though credited to "The Spinners and The Three Stooges", Hudson's own distinctive vocals can also be heard.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, the aggressive and short-tempered leader of the Stooges.

Skyler Gisondo as young Moe

Sean Hayes as Larry, the nearly smartest and most relaxed member of the Stooges.

Lance Chantiles-Wertz as young Larry

Will Sasso as Curly, the goofy and dim-witted member of the Stooges.

Robert Capron as young Curly

Jane Lynch as Mother Superior, the head nun of the orphanage the stooges grew up in.
Kirby Heyborne as Theodore J. "Teddy" Harter, a long-lost friend of the Stooges who they met at the orphanage.
Stephen Collins as Mr. Harter, Teddy’s adoptive father, who is a lawyer that married into money, rather than love. He had originally wanted to adopt Moe, but when he insisted that he returns & adopt Larry and Curly, he dropped him back off at the orphanage & took Teddy in his place. He wants to murder his adopted son out of spite because his late wife & Teddy's deceased mother both left their inheritance to him, rather than himself.
Sofía Vergara as Lydia Harter who was Teddy’s wife that wanted to exploit the stooges. She wants to murder him in order to gain his inheritence. She hates the trio for thwarting her plans to murder Teddy.
Craig Bierko as Mac Mioski, Lydia's lover and henchman.
Larry David as Sister Mary-Mengele, a bad-tempered nun at the orphanage.
Jennifer Hudson as Sister Rosemary, a nun who works at the orphanage.
Brian Doyle-Murray as Monsignor Ratliffe.
Lin Shaye as Nursery Nurse, a nurse who works at the hospital.
Caitlin Colford as Katilyn, a nurse who first notices the Stooges when they first come to the orphanage.
Carly Craig as Mrs. Harter, Mr. Harter's wife who adopted Teddy and leaves the entire inheritance to Teddy over her husband.
Kate Upton as Sister Bernice, a nun at the orphanage.
Marianne Leone as Sister Ricarda, a nun at the orphanage.
Avalon Robbins as Murph, a sick girl at the orphanage who is a friend of the Stooges.
Max Charles as Peezer, Murph's best friend and a friend of the Stooges.
Reid Meadows as Weezer, Peezer's brother; adopted by Teddy
Emy Coligado as Ling, Mr. Harter's secretary who eventually becomes Teddy's second wife.
Isaiah Mustafa as Ralph, a producer for Jersey Shore.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi as herself.
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino as himself.
Jennifer "JWoww" Farley as herself.
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro as himself.
Samantha "Sweetheart" Giancola as herself.
Justin Lopez as Peter Farrelly, Bobby's older brother and co-director of the film.
Antonio Sabàto, Jr. as Bobby Farrelly, Peter's younger brother and co-director of the film.
Dwight Howard as himself, a basketball player who teaches at the new orphanage.

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Development and writing[edit]

text: A Three Stooges film set in the modern day had been in development since at least the mid-1990s; Mad About You creator Danny Jacobson wrote and developed a version in 1997 that had Phil Hartman attached to play Moe.[6] Conundrum Entertainment's Bradley Thomas became attached to The Three Stooges around 2000 with Columbia Pictures. In March 2001, Warner Bros. bought the feature rights from C3 Entertainment and Peter and Bobby Farrelly became involved.[7] They along with co-writer Mike Cerrone completed the script in mid-to-late 2002 and began shopping it. In 2004, with no talent being attached to the project, their rights expired and it was acquired by First Look Studios and C3 Entertainment.[8] In November 2008, MGM boss Mary Parent picked up The Farrelly's Warner Bros. scripts and the rights from C3 Entertainment, and was given a budget of $40 million with a release date of November 20, 2009.[8] In March 2009, after struggling with casting delays, the release date was pushed to 2010, but the filmmakers still did not have a cast set.[8] In November 2010, MGM filed bankruptcy and the following month the project was taken over by 20th Century Fox in hopes to have released the film in 2011.[8][9]

text: The Farrellys said that they were not going to do a biopic or remake, but instead new Three Stooges episodes set in the present day. The film was divided into three segments, each with a stand-alone story, and each being 27 minutes long.[10] The Farrellys aimed to receive a PG (Parental Guidance) rating from the MPAA, while still incorporating physical comedy. In Britain several images were cut before the film achieved the equivalent rating.[3] The Farrellys have also said it would have "non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than we've done. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who the Stooges were. It's by far the riskiest project we've ever done, without question, but it is also the one closest to our hearts."[11]

text: Casting[edit]

text: In March 2009, Benicio del Toro and Hank Azaria were in consideration to play the lead role of Moe Howard.[12] The role of Moe went to Chris Diamantopoulos.[11][13] Sean Penn was already set to play Larry Fine but dropped out to concentrate on his charitable efforts in Haiti.[13] Sean Hayes was chosen to play Larry. Jim Carrey was set to play Curly Howard and gained 40 pounds for the role but ultimately dropped out because of not wanting to endanger his health gaining 60 to 70 pounds.[13][14] The role went to Will Sasso.[15] Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg and Shane Jacobson were all on the short list to play Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively.[16] As the Farrellys note in the DVD/Blu-ray featurette on casting the picture, Sasso was cast as Curly despite being considerably taller than the other Stooges (the original Curly was roughly the same height as Moe and Larry).

text: In December 2010, Richard Jenkins was in talks to play Mother Superior in the film.[8] In February 2011, Cher was considered[13] but Jane Lynch secured the role.[17] Larry David plays another nun in the film called Sister Mary-Mengele,[18] a character named after the infamous Nazi doctor.[19] Sofía Vergara was cast as Lydia. Stephen Collins was cast as Mr. Harter[4] and Carly Craig as his wife, Mrs. Harter.[20] The cast of Jersey Shore (Nicole Polizzi, Michael Sorrentino, Sammi Giancola, Jennifer Farley, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro) have cameos in the film.[21][22]

text: Filming[edit]

text: On a reported budget of $30 million,[4] principal photography started on May 9, 2011, in downtown Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped on July 20, 2011.[22][23] Scenes were shot at the Fairlie-Poplar Historic District around 5 Points Sports Building on the corner of Peachtree St., Edgewood Ave., and Decatur St. on the evening and night of May 13 and wrapped the next day.[23] On May 26, filming took place at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta.[4] Other locations included Piedmont Park, Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Zoo Atlanta, and Colony Square.[24] In June, production moved to Cartersville and shot scenes near Woodland High School.[25] After the cast of the Jersey Shore arrived on July 18, 2011, they shot scenes at the Atlanta Civic Center.[21] During the last two days of filming, scenes were shot at an Ansley Park home.[24] Filming concluded on July 22, 2011, at the Miami Seaquarium, a popular marine life park in Florida, capturing a scene in their dolphin tank.[26]

text: Release and Reception[edit]

text: Appearance on WWE Raw[edit]

text: To promote the film, Diamantopoulos, Hayes, and Sasso appeared as the Stooges on WWE Raw on April 9, 2012. They acted in several scenes, the first with Santino Marella, before later taking to the ring where they were booed by an infuriated crowd before Sasso, dressed as Hulk Hogan, received a chokeslam by Kane.[27]

text: Box office[edit]

text: On its opening weekend in US, The Three Stooges earned $17.1 million and debuted second behind The Hunger Games.[28] The film has grossed $54,819,301 in the box office,[29] and at least $23,875,651 through US home video sales.[30]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 51% based on reviews from 142 critics; the average rating is 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While nowhere near as painful as it could have been, The Three Stooges fails to add fresh laughs to the Stooges' inestimable cinematic legacy."[31] Metacritic gives the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[32] Despite the mixed reviews, Diamantopoulos, Hayes, and Sasso were praised for their performances as Moe, Larry, and Curly.[33]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "[A] funny, good-hearted resuscitation of Hollywood's beloved lowbrow lunkheads",[33] while Manohla Dargis of The New York Times lauded the film as a "thoroughly enjoyable paean to Moe, Larry and Curly and the art of the eye poke".[34] Spill.com gave the movie a fairly good review, insisting that the movie is great for families, and hardcore Stooge-fans will not be disappointed. They also went on to praise the actors for their portrayal of the Stooges, saying the likeness was uncanny, and perhaps even Oscar-worthy. Roger Ebert gave the movie two-and-a-half out of four stars, stating "The Farrelly brothers have made probably the best Three Stooges movie it's possible to make in 2012, and perhaps ever since the Stooges stopped making them themselves." Some critics however complained about the forced pop culture references such as cameos by Jersey Shore cast members which were presumably done to ensure the movie would have youth appeal and not simply be a nostalgia trip for older audiences.

text: Betsy Sherman of The Boston Phoenix gave it three out of four stars, saying it was "funny and faithful", and added that the film contains "stories that could have graced [the Stooges]' 1930s shorts (raise money to save an orphanage, stumble into a greedy wife's plot) onto the present and imagine how they'd interpret modern concepts (farm-raised salmon)".[35]

text: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine gave it two stars out of four, commenting that "the movie is a mixed bag. The gags don't blossom with repetition. The Stooges were always better in short doses. And 90 minutes of PG nyuk-nyuk-nyuk can seem like an eternity. For the Farrellys, The Three Stooges is a labor of love. For non-believers, it's merely a labor." Travers also praised the cast, stating "The actors deserve a full-throated woo-woo-woo!" adding that "Hayes, Sasso and Diamantopoulos do themselves and the Stooges proud."[36]

text: Bill Wine of KYW Newsradio 1060 in Philadelphia commented that "no one's going to confuse The Three Stooges with a transcendent movie anytime soon, but the Farrellys do capture and reproduce the anarchic spirit and uninhibited essence of the Stooges—soitenly and poifectly, as the Stooges would put it—and remind us why they had such a hold on some of us in decades past. The three leads are expert mimics—especially Hayes...they acquit themselves admirably..."[37]

text: Controversy[edit]

text: Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League anti-defamation organization, released a statement condemning the movie on the grounds of disrespectful portrayals of Catholics, specifically nuns.[38] Donohue claims that the movie is evidence of increasing hostility towards religion and Catholics in Hollywood, commenting "In the 1950s, Hollywood generally avoided crude fare and was respectful of religion. Today, it specializes in crudity and trashes Christianity, especially Catholicism." Donohue added that the movie "is not just another remake: it is a cultural marker of sociological significance, and what it says about the way we’ve changed is not encouraging."[38]

text: Donohue pinpoints one scene in which the film pushes the envelope with its portrayals of two unusual nuns, portrayed by the swimsuit model Kate Upton, and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David. Both are potential causes for offense for different reasons, as Moviefone reports:

text: "In Stooges, David portrays Sister Mary-Mengele. The name is a nod to the late Nazi Josef Mengele, an SS Officer who decided prisoners' fates at Auschwitz. As for Upton, it's not so much her character's name—Sister Bernice—as it is her attire. During one scene, the SI swimsuit model dons a very revealing bikini along with a large rosary around her neck."[19]

text: To resolve the issue, the Farelly brothers reshot the scene with Larry pointing out Sister Bernice, still wearing the "nun-kini" while on lifeguard duty at the new orphanage's pool.[citation needed] Close-up footage of Upton exiting the pool in front of a group of children appears in the film's trailer, but not in the movie itself nor DVD/Blu-ray deleted scenes; in the final film, she is only seen sitting in a chair and briefly in the background of a group shot while in her swimsuit (in her other scenes, she is dressed in standard nun attire).

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The cast of Jersey Shore were each nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple for their work on the film, but lost to Mackenzie Foy and Taylor Lautner for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

text: The film received a nomination for worst film of the year by the Houston Film Critics Society.[39]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The Three Stooges was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 17, 2012. The release includes behind-the-scenes featurettes, a screen test featuring the three lead actors testing out a scene later reshot for the movie, and a selection of deleted scenes. Of note is the inclusion of the theatrical trailer which, as mentioned above, contains numerous differences compared to the final film.

text: Sequel[edit]

text: On May 7, 2015, a sequel was announced, with Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso all reprising their roles. Cameron Fay has been hired to write the script.[40] It will begin production in 2018.[41][42]


document_title: List of NFL quarterbacks with 5,000 passing yards in a season

question_text: who has the most passing yards in one season

text:
NFL lists
Current season[show]
2018 season

Quarterbacks[show]
 Starting quarterbacks by touchdowns / touchdowns (playoffs) / yardage / 5000 yard seasons / completion / winsby team  BUFMIANENYJ BALCINCLEPIT HOUINDJAXTEN DENKCLACOAK DALNYGPHIWAS CHIDETGBMIN ATLCARNOTB ARILARSFSEAMost winsPlayoff records
Most consecutive starts
Most consecutive gameswith touchdown pass

Running backs[show]
Career rushing attempts leaders
Career rushing yards leaders
Career rushing touchdowns leaders
Annual rushing yards leaders
Annual rushing touchdowns leaders
2,000-yard club
1,000-yard duos

Receivers[show]
Career receptions leaders
Career receiving yards leaders
Career receiving touchdowns leaders
Annual receptions leaders
Annual receiving yards leaders
Annual receiving touchdowns leaders

Defense[show]
Career sacks leaders
Annual sacks leaders
Career interceptions leaders
Annual interceptions leaders

Special teams[show]
Longest field goals
Career field goals leaders
Career punting yards leaders
Career punt return yards leaders
Career kickoff return yards leaders
Annual field goals leaders
Annual punting yards leaders
Annual punt return yards leaders
Annual kickoff return yards leaders

Other lists[show]
Most consecutive starts(and games played)
Career all-purpose yards leaders
Career scoring leaders
Brett Favre'scareer achievements
Peyton Manning'scareer achievements
vte

tag: table

text: Passing for 5,000 yards in a single regular season is a rare achievement in the National Football League (NFL).  Dan Marino was the first player to reach the 5,000 mark when he set an NFL record with 5,084 yards passing in 1984.[1]   Marino's record remained intact for over a decade after his retirement in 1999.[2] Peyton Manning currently holds the record with 5,477 passing yards in 2013. Drew Brees is the only NFL quarterback to reach 5,000 yards more than once, having done so five times.[3] In 2011 three different players, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Matt Stafford threw for over 5,000 yards.

text: NFL players with 5,000 passing yards in a season[edit]

text:
Quarterback

Team

Passing yards

Season

Notes

Dan Marino

Miami Dolphins

5,084

1984

1st in NFL history, AP MVP & Offensive Player of the Year[4]

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

5,069

2008

Offensive Player of the Year[5]

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

5,476

2011

2nd 5,000-yard season,  Offensive Player of the Year

Tom Brady

New England Patriots

5,235

2011

[6]

Matthew Stafford

Detroit Lions

5,038

2011

Comeback Player of the Year[7]

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

5,177

2012

3rd 5,000-yard season, 2nd consecutive

Peyton Manning

Denver Broncos

5,477

2013

NFL record, AP MVP & Offensive Player of the Year

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

5,162

2013

4th 5,000-yard season, 3rd consecutive

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

5,208

2016

5th 5,000-yard season

text: 4,000 passing yards in a season[edit]

text: 4,000 yards passing in a season was once considered a very rare feat but has lost a bit of significance over the years.  During the 14 game era, only Joe Namath passed for over 4,000 yards in a season with 4,007 yards passing in the 1967 AFL season.  During the 1980s and 1990s, 4,000 yards became the standard for the league leaders in the NFL.  Over the last decade, 4,000 yards has become almost commonplace in the NFL.  In the 2012 season, eleven quarterbacks passed for over 4,000 yards.[8] Peyton Manning has had the most 4,000 yard seasons (14).[9]