SANTA CLARA http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-isaiah-johnson-jersey , Calif. (AP) MVP chants for the quarterback who has single-handedly changed the mood around the San Francisco 49ers. The legend of Jimmy G is showing no signs of slowing down. Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score against the defense that allowed the fewest points in the league, and the 49ers won their fourth straight behind their new quarterback, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 44-33 on Sunday.Article continues below ... ”It’s awesome. Things are going good right now,” Garoppolo said. ”There’s a buzz in the air. You can feel it as soon as you walk into the stadium. The crowd’s going nuts just in pregame. It’s exciting. It’s a nice thing to be a part of.” Garoppolo has been the major reason for the turnaround for the 49ers (5-10) since being inserted into the starting lineup earlier this month following a midseason trade from New England. He has led San Francisco to four straight wins, but this one might have been the most impressive, considering the quality of Jacksonville’s defense. The Jaguars came into the game having allowed the fewest points and yards passing in the league, while making the most sacks. ”Since Jimmy G got here things have been a lot different,” running back Carlos Hyde said. ”Things have been feeling really good around here. It’s been a good vibe. That energy in the locker room right now is really good. Guys are teeing off that and ready to play.” Garoppolo carved Jacksonville up, completing 21 for 30 passes for 242 yards with TD throws to George Kittle and Trent Taylor as San Francisco pulled away in the second half. Garoppolo improved to 6-0 in his career as a starter. The day wasn’t a total loss for the Jaguars (10-5), who clinched their first division title since 1999 earlier in the afternoon when Tennessee lost at home to the Rams. But the defeat dealt a big blow to Jacksonville’s hopes for a first-round bye. The Jaguars need to win next week and hope Pittsburgh loses twice to get a bye. They were in no mood to celebrate after the game. The frustration boiled over into sideline arguments and several personal fouls, and the Jaguars had little to feel good about after the game. ”I still wanted to win this game and come in here and celebrate, but we’ve earned everything we’ve got to this point,” said cornerback Aaron Colvin Devin Bush Jersey , who got into a heated argument during the game with teammate Malik Jackson. ””We put ourselves in this position, but it’s not over. It’s cool and all, but we have bigger goals. Blake Bortles threw three interceptions for the Jaguars, including one returned for a touchdown by Dontae Johnson in the first half, after going three straight weeks without one in the best stretch of his career . Bortles threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Jaguars. ”Very weird feeling. Any time you lose, especially the way we’ve been playing, it’s tough,” Bortles said. ”But it’s also kind of in the back of your head that we won the division. So that’s pretty cool, but I don’t think anybody’s happy with what went on today. We wanted to win the division by winning today. We weren’t able to do that, so that’s tough.” FAST START Garoppolo got San Francisco off to a fast start by completing 5 of 6 for 75 yards on the opening drive that was capped by his 1-yard TD sneak . That marked the first time the Niners scored a touchdown on their opening drive since Dec. 11, 2016 against the Jets and the first time Jacksonville allowed one this year. BAD TEMPERS San Francisco scored on its first two drives, leading to the argument between Jackson and Colvin. Jacksonville then committed two personal fouls by Myles Jack and Yannick Ngakoue on a TD drive in the second half. Jackson then committed a personal foul with 1:43 remaining to give the Niners a key first down. ”Controlling our emotions when we’re on the field http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-authentic , that affects the team and that’s what we have to do a better job of,” coach Doug Marrone said. MOMENTUM CHANGER The 49ers appeared in control when Johnson returned a deflected interception 50 yards for a TD to put San Francisco up 16-0. But the Jaguars blocked the extra point attempt and Colvin returned it for two points. Bortles then led two straight touchdown drives to close the half, while Garoppolo was intercepted in the end zone by Barry Church after getting hit on the pass to leave the game tied at 16 at the half. INJURIES Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson (abdominal strain) and linebacker Blair Brown (concussion) left in the first half and didn’t return. … 49ers LB Reuben Foster left the game with a stinger. UP NEXT Jaguars: Visit Tennessee on Sunday. 49ers: Visit Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. — Antonio Brown’s locker sat empty on Friday save for the stack of cardboard boxes pushed off to the side, items the Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver hasn’t gotten around to unpacking just yet. The All-Pro is too busy trying to get his injured left calf ready in time for Pittsburgh’s division playoff game to worry about wading into his ever-expanding universe of swag.
The AFC North champions are optimistic Brown’s familiar No. 84 will run out of the tunnel at Heinz Field on Jan. 14. Brown hasn’t played a snap since injuring the leg while trying to haul in a touchdown pass in the second quarter against New England on Dec. 17. If for some reason his leg doesn’t heal in time, the Steelers (13-3) are confident they can thrive without him.
”We don’t know what’s going to happen with 84,” veteran receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. ”Things sound good but we don’t know. I’m confident because we put the work in. You saw it in the Patriots game. We didn’t panic when AB got hurt. Guys rolled in, played ball. The last few weeks we’ve been doing that.”
Pittsburgh persevered thanks in part to the precocious development of rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster, the resilience of Martavis Bryant and offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s refusal to pigeon hole the many weapons at his disposal. Haley insists that every wide receiver and tight end learn how to run every route from every conceivable spot along the line of scrimmage. Even running back Le’Veon Bell (whose 85 receptions ranked 10th in the league) is required to pick it up.
”We’ve got to keep it unpredictable,” tight end Jesse James said. ”We can’t let defense know where AB is going to line up every time. That goes for everybody. We’re always looking to see different matchups.”
Ones the Steelers exploited even with Brown out.
Smith-Schuster averaged 110 yards receiving over the final three games. Bryant’s tumultuous return from a yearlong suspension, a return that included an early-season trade demand, ended with a flourish. He caught 13 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown over the last three weeks. Even reserves Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter found the end zone as Pittsburgh bounced back from a difficult loss to the Patriots to clinch a first-round playoff bye.
Don’t get Brown’s teammates wrong. Pittsburgh is infinitely better with the only unanimous selection on the NFL’s 2017 All-Pro team in the lineup. Yet the drop-off isn’t quite as steep as it would have been a year ago, when Bryant was out of the league, Smith-Schuster was still in college and injuries forced the Steelers to use a largely anonymous group to fill in the gaps.
It speaks to the depth Pittsburgh has cultivated over the last 12 months that Cobi Hamilton Justin Layne Jersey , who caught the team’s lone touchdown pass in an AFC title game loss to New England, didn’t survive the final round of cuts in August.
”Out of all the years I’ve been here, I’m confident knowing we have more hands, we have more in our deck of cards,” said Heyward-Bey, now in his fourth season with the Steelers. ”We’ve got more things going on.”
Smith-Schuster has been a revelation as both a route runner and an enthusiastic blocker in the running game. And Brown’s absence has given Bryant the playing time he was looking for when he went to the team in September and asked to be traded. Things have quieted down since, and his production level ticked up as the season went along. Bryant had at least four receptions in five of Pittsburgh’s last six games. He only had one game with more than four receptions over the first 10 weeks.
Bryant stressed the receivers didn’t ”add more pressure to ourselves” when Brown went down but added ”everybody wants to have AB’s back and be great for him.” Perhaps no one has more at stake than the 26-year-old Bryant, who showed flashes of greatness in in 2014-15 before multiple violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy put his career in jeopardy. The road back has been rocky but nothing Bryant says he can’t handle.
”This is nothing compared to what I’ve been through,” Bryant said. ”This is a walk in the park for me. Just happy to be back. This year almost over. We got three more games left, looking forward to those and see what happens.”