The Latest from NFL divisional games Saturday. (All times EST)
11:28 p.m.
Aaron Rodgers has done it again.
After winning a game against Detroit with a Hail Mary, he made another last second touchdown pass to set up a tie against Arizona Saturday night.
This time the catch was made by Jeff Janis, a little used backup forced into a key role because of injuries to Randall Cobb and Davantae Adams. Janis leaped high and somehow held on to the 41-yard pass as time ran out, making the score 20-19 Cardinals. The extra point sent the game to overtime.
Earlier in the drive, Janis kept the game alive with a 60-yard reception on fourth down and 20.
—
11:00 p.m.
The Cardinals are back in the lead after a Carson Palmer pass was deflected by Packers defensive back Damarious Randall and ended up in the arms of Michael Floyd for his second touchdown of the game.
With less than four minutes remaining, the Arizona leads the Green Bay Packers 17-13.
—
10:43 p.m.
Carson Palmer is having his worst game of the season at precisely the wrong time.
Arizona’s quarterback threw for 74 yards on 8-of-14 passing in the first half and has two interceptions in the second.
The second pick, by Damarious Randall, came in the end zone with the Cardinals trailing 13-10 in the fourth quarter.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
10:21 p.m.
The Cardinals answered Green Bay’s first touchdown – with a field goal.
Arizona marched 74 yards after Jeff Janis’ TD catch, but bogged down once it hit the red zone. Larry Fitzgerald was hit with an illegal block penalty and Carson Palmer missed a potential touchdown when he couldn’t get the ball to David Johnson near the goal line.
Arizona settled for Matt Catanzaro’s 28-yard field goal to pull within 13-10 late in the third quarter.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
10:09 p.m.
The Packers have their first lead against the Cardinals.
Jeff Janis scored on an 8-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to put Green Bay up 13-7 after Ha Ha Clinton-Dix pulled down a jump ball for an interception on a pass by Carson Palmer. The interception was upheld upon review and Eddie Lacy broke free for a 61-yard run up the middle two plays later to set up Janis’ TD.
Clinton-Dix’s interception came after Rodgers had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage an intercepted by Rashad Johnson.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
10:01 p.m.
Green Bay will be without backup cornerback Micah Hyde for the rest of the game with a hip injury.
Hyde was listed as questionable after being injured in the second quarter, but the team said he was out at the start of the third.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
9:41 p.m.
The Arizona Cardinals lead the Green Bay Packers 7-6 at halftime in a defense-dominated NFC divisional playoff game.
Arizona scored early on a toe-tapping catch by Michael Floyd, but its offense labored the rest of the half, finishing with 75 total yards.
The Packers were able to move the ball against the Cardinals’ defense some, but had to settle for a pair of field goals by Mason Crosby.
The game is far different than the one played by these two teams here on Dec. 27. The Cardinals ran over the Packers in that game, winning 38-8.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
9:23 p.m.
Green Bay will be without its top receiver the rest of the night.
Randall Cobb injured his chest on the final play of the first quarter against the Cardinals when he made a diving 51-yard catch to Arizona’s 3-yard line. The catch was negated on offsetting penalties and Cobb left the field on a cart shortly after.
The Packers said in the second quarter that he would not return.
Cobb led Green Bay with 79 catches this season, gaining 829 yards and scoring six TDs.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
9:04
Talk about a turn of events.
Arizona’s Patrick Peterson appeared to have returned an interception for a 100-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, but it was overturned due to a hands-to-the-face penalty on Cardinals defensive lineman Frostee Rucker.
Instead of being up 14-0, the Cardinals had a 7-3 lead after Green Bay’s Mason Crosby kicked a 28-yard field goal.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
8:56 p.m.
Packers receiver Randall Cobb has left Green Bay’s playoff game against Arizona on a cart after suffering a chest injury during a spectacular catch in the first quarter.
Cobb stretched out for a diving 51-yard catch to Arizona’s 3-yard line, landing hard on the turf. He was taken to the locker room on a cart and the team said his return is questionable.
The catch didn’t count, either – it was called back by offsetting penalties.
– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.
—
8:30 p.m.
The Arizona Cardinals got on the scoreboard first against the Packers thanks to a toe-tapping catch by Michael Floyd.
Carson Palmer threw a high pass into the corner of the end zone, and Floyd snatched it over his head while getting one foot down and dragging his other foot to stay in bounds.
Arizona leads 7-0.
—
8:00 p.m.
Thanks to their 27-20 victory over the Chiefs, the Patriots are moving on to their fifth straight AFC title game. The Patriots will find out if they have another home game tomorrow evening after the Steelers play the Broncos.
If the No. 1 seed Broncos win at home, they will host the Patriots next Sunday. If the Steelers win, Pittsburgh travels to Foxborough.
—
6:55 p.m.
The New England Patriots are down a couple of linebackers against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jamie Collins is questionable to return with a back injury, while Jerod Mayo is also questionable with a shoulder ailment.
The Patriots’ only remaining active linebackers are starter Dont’a Hightower and backups Jonathan Freeny, Darius Fleming and Dekoda Watson. Jonathan Bostic was inactive.
New England leads Kansas City 21-13 at the start of the fourth quarter.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
6:04 p.m.
The scoreboard shows it’s still close, but Tom Brady and the Patriots are in control.
New England leads Kansas City 14-6 at halftime of the AFC divisional playoff game Saturday, with the offense moving the ball efficiently and Bill Belichick’s defense holding the Chiefs out of the end zone.
Brady is 17 of 25 for 157 yards and a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. Brady also has a 1-yard run for a score. New England has just seven rushed for 26 yards, but the Chiefs haven’t been able to manage much when they’ve had the ball.
Kansas City settled for two field goals by Cairo Santos and missed a prime opportunity for a touchdown shortly before halftime when the Chiefs got down to the Patriots 9. A delay-of-game penalty on third-and-9 pushed the ball back to the 14, and Alex Smith’s pass to Chris Conley fell incomplete, setting up Santos’ 32-yarder.
Smith opened the game 5 of 5 for 29 yards, but is at 10 of 21 for just 65 yards at halftime.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
5:48 p.m.
Tom Brady rushed for his sixth postseason touchdown, second in Patriots history, to give New England a 14-3 lead over Kansas City with 3:23 remaining in the first half.
The score came moments after Brady scrambled for 10 yards to get to the 1; video review upheld the ruling that he went out of bounds just short of the goal line. With center Bryan Stork back in after leaving briefly with an ankle injury and backup center David Andrews lined up as a fullback, Brady pushed forward into a pile of Chiefs for the score.
Brady is one rushing TD behind LeGarrette Blount, who has seven for the Patriots. Steve Young holds the NFL postseason record for quarterbacks with eight.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
5:45 p.m.
The referees are trying to keep this game under control, a week after the game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh was tainted by illegal hits and penalties.
Patriots receiver and punt returner Danny Amendola was flagged for a hit on Kansas City’s Jamell Fleming midway through the second quarter. Amendola was back to receive a punt, but Fleming was covering and got under the ball at around the 4-yard line. Amendola lowered his head and leveled Fleming.
On the next drive, Dezman Moses tried to take it out on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and was called for roughing the passer.
– Jimmy Golen reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
5:20 p.m.
New England center Bryan Stork is questionable to return against the Kansas City Chiefs with an ankle injury.
Backup David Andrews took Stork’s place early in the second quarter.
The Patriots offensive line has been beset by injuries all season, with 12 combinations of starters during the regular season.
New England just got back left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who missed the regular-season finale after an ankle injury against the New York Jets on Dec. 27.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
4:55 p.m.
Chandler Jones started at defensive end for the New England Patriots despite his issues off the field last weekend.
Jones’ status was uncertain for the game Saturday against Kansas City after he wandered over to a police station last Sunday, shirtless and disoriented, leaving his house reeking of burnt marijuana.
The Pro Bowl selection, who was fifth in NFL with a career-high 12 1/2 sacks, apologized to his teammates and fans on Thursday, saying he made a ”pretty stupid mistake.” He declined to elaborate on what happened, and coach Bill Belichick refused to say whether Jones would be benched for any part of the game.
The Chiefs scored a field goal on the first drive, cutting the lead to 7-3.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
4:45 p.m.
New England’s Rob Gronkowski tied Dave Casper and Vernon Davis for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in postseason history with his seventh.
Gronkowski, who was questionable to play with back and knee ailments, caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady on New England’s opening drive to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in their AFC divisional round playoff game Saturday.
Gronkowski led the Patriots with 11 TD catches during the regular season and became the only tight end in NFL history with five career 10-TD seasons.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
4:40 p.m.
NFL referees might need to work on their coin tosses in the offseason.
At the AFC division playoff game Saturday between Kansas City and New England, referee Craig Wrolstad flipped the coin, and it was tails – which the Chiefs had called.
But, Wrolstad turned to the Patriots players and said, ”You win the toss.”
One of the Kansas City players then shouted that the Chiefs had called tails – and Wrolstad quickly corrected himself. Kansas City had, indeed, won the toss and deferred the opening kickoff.
The Patriots were involved in a coin flip-related controversy in Week 16, when they lost to the Jets 26-20 in overtime. Bill Belichick told his team to kick if it won the coin toss, which it did. But there was confusion when Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater thought New England could choose the direction in which the team could kick.
– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
—
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
25% Bonus via Western Union
