KANSAS CITY (MI) -- A spirited comeback by the home side fell short as the New England Patriots held on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 Saturday morning at Arrowhead Stadium.
Dak Prescott shook his 'can't win the big game' in 2018 label with an outstanding 391 passing yards to go along with five TD strikes.
"I've heard the talk," Prescott said. "Failing to beat the Jets or the Bills put us in this position as the #6 seed, but it's a new game now. We'll see who is standing after next week."
WR Julio Jones, who may be the game's quietest superstar, scored on four of his six receptions while putting up 151 receiving yards.
"We had to keep scoring," Julio said. "This is a tough place to play and we knew it wasn't going to be easy."
The Patriots typically stingy defense was gashed throughout by HB Kareem Hunt who finished with 196 rushing yards on the day.
The Patriots will now travel to face the NFL's #1 seed in the 15-1 New York Jets.
During the regular season, the Pats struggled mightily against the Jets - Particularly against their pass rush led by 3GML MVP Joey Bosa.
BUFFALO BILLS 38 @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 27
JACKSONVILLE (FL) -- Aaron Rodgers did just enough to fend off a hot Blake Bortles to lead his team to a 38-27 road victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-27.
Bortles and the Jags were 10.5 point home underdogs with their 7-9 record, but didn't play the part.
The much-maligned Bortles finished 21-29 for 346 passing yards and 3 TDs to keep his team close.
But Rodgers was better.
The former NFL MVP passed for 352 yards and 5TDs to best Bortles.
"You never know in the playoffs," Rodgers said. "Next week it could be Todd (Gurley) dominating the afternoon - These games take on a life of their own and all you have to do is be the last team standing at the end."
Brandin Cooks continued his impressive run with six receptions for 219 yards and a pair of TDs in the victory.
To help close out the game late, veteran NaVorro Bowman was able to secure a pair of sacks to prove that Father Time hasn't closed out this player's career yet.
"This is it for me," Bowman said. "I'm trying to go out a champion."
The Bills will now travel to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in what should be a raucous Heinz Field atmosphere.
COMPENSATORY PICKS BEGINNING TO BE ANNOUNCED
With the end of the NFL's regular season, 3GML 2019 compensatory picks are slowly being announced as teams have until the end of the 2018 league year to list players set to become UFA's. Based on their final 2018 Madden rankings, here are the current awarded compensatory picks to 3GML squads:
BUFFALO BILLS
K Chris Boswell (75) - 5th
MIAMI DOLPHINS
DE William Hayes (86) - 3rd (#100)
WR Devante Parker (80) - 4th
CB Jonathan Jones (77) - 5th
WR Cordarrelle Patterson (76) - 5th
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
MLB Reuben Foster (77) - 3rd (#98)
DT Tyler Davison (79) - 5th
NEW YORK JETS
DE Cameron Wake (89) - 3rd (#97)
HB David Johnson (87) - 3rd (#99)
HB Duke Johnson Jr. (82) - 4th
OLB Mychal Kendricks (82) - 4th
P Laclan Edwards (77) - 5th
