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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Coach Sean Payton the New Orleans Saints are anything but risk averse.After all Devin Bush Jersey , Payton’s Saints won a Super Bowl with the help of a surprise onside kick nine years ago, and now New Orleans is one home victory away from its first Super Bowl since then — thanks to a pair of aggressive and pivotal fourth-down play calls when the Saints were trying to come back from a two-touchdown deficit.“We needed to shift momentum and we were able to, fortunately, and take advantage of it,” said Payton, who’s bound to carry that approach into the NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams next weekend.Facing fourth-and-short on their own 30, Payton called for a fake punt on which third-string quarterback and special teams virtuoso Taysom Hill took a direct snap as the up back.So when the Saints faced another fourth down on the Eagles 2 later that same drive, it only seemed fitting that they dialed up a touchdown pass from Drew Brees to rookie receiver Keith Kirkwood instead of settling for a field goal.That marked the beginning of 20 unanswered points scored by New Orleans in a 20-14 triumph in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs on Sunday.“It’s that play-to-win mentality,” Brees said. “I’ve been with Sean long enough now to say that he’s always been like that. From ’06 until now, I think it’s something that he knows the offense and the team feeds off of.“When you get that in guys’ minds that we are going to be aggressive, we are going to play to win, it allows guys to relax and cut loose,” Brees added.Payton’s gambles often occur with Hill on the field, perhaps because they seem to think alike. Hill had the option to check out of the fake and let the snap sail to punter Thomas Morstead if the defensive alignment looked unfavorable. But Hill was in no mind to wait for a better opportunity. He had seemingly nowhere to go when he got the ball, and powered through anyway.“At the end of the day I’m going to error on being aggressive. I’m going to error on taking the opportunity to create some momentum and have a game-changing play for sure,” Hill said. “It’s all about taking calculated risks. It’s finding that balance and that was a look that I felt like we could get it. That was a look that the coaches felt like we could get it, and I think at the end of the day it shows how much trust coach has in us.”Eagles coach Doug Pederson said the Saints’ risk-reward propositions had less to do with the element of surprise than simply New Orleans ability to call a good play situationally and execute.“You kind of expect it in that situation,” Pederson said. “You’ve just got to be prepared for that. We had our defense stay on the field. It was a great play by them.”Some other story lines surrounding the Saints’ first divisional round playoff victory since their last Super Bowl title in the 2009-10 season:LOST LEADER: The Saints stopped short of confirming that top defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins would miss the rest of the postseason with a low leg injury in the area of his Achilles http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-diontae-johnson-jersey , but when he punched the turf before being carted off the field, it looked serious. Afterward, Payton and players insinuated that Rankins’ injury was season-ending.“It’s gut wrenching,” Payton said. “He’s played so well for us.”Rankins was a first-round draft choice in 2016 and his eight sacks this season ranked second on the team .“To see him go down really hurt,” fellow Saints defensive lineman Tyeler Davison said. “But I think it’s going to give us some fuel as well to play for him and pull this thing out for him.”ALSHON’S ABBERATION: Normally reliable Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery might have been the least likely candidate to have an accurate Nick Foles pass bounce off his hands and into the waiting arms of cornerback Marshon Lattimore in the final minutes, sealing the result right when Philadelphia was threatening to take a lead in the final minutes.Jeffery dropped to the turf, face down, after the turnover, but the Eagles tried to console him. Before that fateful play, Jeffery had five catches for a team-high 63 yards.“He’s so down, but for me it’s about staying positive,” Pederson said. “He’s made many, many big catches for us throughout the season…I told him to keep his head up and don’t let one play define him.”GROUND GAINS: The Saints outgained the Eagles 137-49 on the ground, with the elusive Alvin Kamara rushing for 71 yards, including a 12-yard, first-down run that let the Saints run out the clock. The hard-charging Mark Ingram added 53 yards. The running back tandem also combined for six catches for 44 yards.WORN DOWN: If it wasn’t tough enough for the Eagles to have three defensive starters — end Michael Bennett, tackle Fletcher Cox and cornerback Rasul Douglas — leave the game intermittently with minor injuries, Philadelphia’s defense also spent far more time on the field than the Eagles would have liked. During the last three quarters Justin Layne Jersey , the Saints possessed the ball for more than 32 minutes and had one 92-yard drive that took 18 plays — or more than 20 plays when counting plays wiped out by penalties.Brees pointed to that possession as “the turning point in the game.” FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — It’s not every day that a team finds itself cheering for the one that beat it the season before in the Super Bowl.This isn’t the typical season for the New England Patriots.Patriots players erupted in a loud cheer in the locker room as Eagles kicker Jake Elliott’s 35-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired to give Philadelphia a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.Article continues below ...Combined with the Patriots’ 24-12 win over the Buffalo Bills just minutes before to snap a two-game losing streak, New England moved back into the No. 2 spot in the AFC with one game to play. A Patriots win over the Jets next week would give New England a first-round bye in the playoffs.“Fly, Eagles, Fly!” receiver Julian Edelman said afterward.It was a perfect ending to a less than perfect day for the Patriots.New England (10-5) earned their 10th straight AFC East title with Sony Michel running for 116 yards and a touchdown. It also improved to 7-0 at home this season and became the first franchise in NFL history to earn playoff berths in 10 straight seasons. It marked the Patriots’ fifth straight win over the Bills (5-10) and their 26th series sweep of Buffalo.Tom Brady went 13 of 24 for 126 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions — his lowest output since he passed for 123 yards in a 2003 loss to the Bills.“We didn’t have our best day in the passing game.But it felt good to win.At this time of year, whatever it takes to win, that’s what you’ve got to do,” Brady said. “And we still have one hugely important game left.We have to finish strong.”But with the touchdown he joined Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers with at least 10 seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards. Manning has 14 such seasons, Brees entered the day with 12 and Rivers has 10.It was Michel’s fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season.It helped mask Brady’s mild day. The two interceptions were his third time with multiple picks in a game this season. He now has 11 interceptions in 2018, his most since 2013.Brady’s touchdown pass of the game came thanks to a heads-up play by Julian Edelman in the third quarter .Leading 14-6 and facing fourth-and-4 on the Bills 32, Brady found Edelman over the middle on a quick slant. Edelman was tackled and rolled up by safety Rafael Bush, but Edelman never touched the ground. He got up and sprinted into the end zone.Brady’s interceptions were among three turnovers by the Patriots on the day, but Buffalo was only able to turn them into three points. Leading 24-6 in fourth quarter, he was replaced by backup Brian Hoyer.Asked why he pulled Brady with more than six minutes to play, coach Bill Belichick said because “I thought it was the right thing to do.”Bills back running back LeSean McCoy returned after a one-game absence with a left hamstring injury. He had a quiet return http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-benny-snell-jr.-jersey , rushing six times for 9 yards. He didn’t play the first series of the game and said afterward he was benched by coach Sean McDermott after a disagreement for which McCoy took responsibility.“We had an issue. He corrected me. That’s all,” McCoy said.Rookie quarterback Josh Allen was bottled up for most of the day, limited to 20 of 41 for 217 yards with two interceptions. He ran five times for 30 yards. Buffalo finished with 72 rushing yards, the first time in five games it failed to rush for 100 or more.“Gotta get better,” Allen said. “We’ll learn from this one. New England is the team that teams want to be. The trajectory of where we want to put this team and how they can sustain success, so yeah we’re gonna learn from this one.”After going three plays and out on their first drive of the day, the Patriots went to the run game to score the game’s first touchdown. New England ran six straight times, capped by a 4-yard TD run by Michel. It was Michel’s first touchdown since New England’s Week 12 win over the Jets.Following a Buffalo punt, the Patriots crossed into Bills’ territory again, but gave the ball back when Rex Burkhead fumbled. But Stephen Hauschka’s 43-yard field goal attempt hit the crossbar.After both teams exchanged punts, New England pushed its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter via a 27-yard touchdown run by James White .NO OFFENSEBuffalo’s first six drives of the game were a regression for an offense that had shown promise in recent games. The Bills went three plays and out three straight times, followed by six plays and the missed field goal; three-and-out; and one play and an interception by Allen.The Bills returned the favor when Lorenzo Alexander picked off an errant pass by Brady. But Buffalo again failed to convert the turnover into points, turning the ball over on downs when Allen’s deep, fourth-and-3 pass for Robert Foster fell incomplete.INJURIESBills: LB Julian Stanford left in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. … WR Isaiah McKenzie was evaluated for a head injury in the second quarter but returned in the second half. … WR Deonte Thompson left in the third quarter with a toe injury.Patriots: WR Cordarrelle Patterson left with a knee injury in the third quarter.UP NEXTBills: Host Miami next Sunday.Patriots: Host the Jets.