Blake Bortles, Jaguars Stun Steelers; Will Face Patriots in AFC Championship

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one win away from Super Bowl 52 after they stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 at Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon.  

Quarterback Blake Bortles finished the upset 14-of-26 for 214 yards, and his 14-yard touchdown toss to fullback Tommy Bohanon with 4:19 remaining in regulation halted the Steelers' furious second-half comeback: 

Bortles—who joined Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to drop at least 42 points against the Steelers in a playoff game, according to the Associated Press' Josh Dubow—silenced critics by leading scoring drives of 66, 75, 61 and 75 yards to propel the Jaguars to their first AFC Championship Game in 18 years. 

Running back Leonard Fournette added 25 carries for 109 yards and three scores on a day when Jacksonville bludgeoned the Steelers up front. 

The Jaguars needed every point, too, even if it didn't look that way early on. 

The AFC South champions flaunted swagger right out of the gate, mounting a 14-0 first-quarter lead on two Fournette touchdowns. The second one came after Myles Jack intercepted Ben Roethlisberger deep in Steelers territory. 

Jacksonville kept surging through the second quarter.

Running back T.J. Yeldon found paydirt from four yards out to put the Jaguars up 21-0, and the scoring deluge continued when linebacker Telvin Smith capitalized on a Yannick Ngakoue strip-sack with a scoop-and-score that made it feel like a Week 5 redux: 

But unlike the early-season loss to Jacksonville, Roethlisberger—who threw for 469 yards and five touchdowns—was in no mood to wonder whether he had it anymore. 

Big Ben linked up with Martavis Bryant and Le'Veon Bell on touchdown passes to trim Jacksonville's lead to 28-21 entering the fourth quarter. Then a clutch 43-yard scoring grab by Antonio Brown on fourth down with 9:05 to go once again brought the Steelers within a score after Fournette had plunged in for his third touchdown of the game: 

However, the Steelers never brought the game even. 

Bortles and the Jaguars answered the bell at every turn in the fourth quarter—leaving Pittsburgh one game short of an AFC title rematch with the New England Patriots. 

Now, Jacksonville will head to Gillette Stadium with a trip to the Super Bowl hanging in the balance as its dream season improbably continues.