The defensive-minded Jacksonville Jaguars have scraped their way to an ugly and sometimes unwatchable 10-3 NFL victory over the Buffalo Bills in their AFC wildcard game.
In the postseason for the first time since 2008, the third-seeded Jaguars (11-6) advanced to play at the No.2 seed Pittsburgh Steelers next week.
The Bills, who last made the postseason in 1999, will head home after ending the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports.
This was far from a passing clinic, more like a painful exercise in overcoming poor passing.
The Jaguars' Blake Bortles was off most of the day, misfiring short and long, but made up for it with 88 yards rushing.
"We weren't sharp, we made some bad plays and did some stupid stuff, but we found a way to win and that's all that matters," Bortles said.
He completed 12 of 23 passes for 87 yards, with a touchdown.
His TD pass to backup tight end Ben Koyack late in the third quarter was his best throw of the game.
The Bills had plenty of chances down the stretch, but a huge penalty against Charles Clay and then a tackle that knocked quarterback Tyrod Taylor out of the game ended any threat of a comeback.
New Orleans Saints held off a late comeback bid by the Carolina Panthers to prevail 31-26 victory in their NFC wild-card encounter.
The Panthers had a first down on the Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds left, but heavy pressure by All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan a couple plays later induced an intentional grounding penalty on Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, making it third-and-25 on the Saints 34 and a required 10-second runoff.
After an incompletion in the end zone on third down, Vonn Bell sacked Newton on a safety blitz, ensuring the Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings with Carolina (11-6) this season, in addition to winning their first play-off game in four seasons.
Drew Brees passed for 376 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints.
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