Romo’s late TD pass beats Lions 24-20; Ravens win

Published 1:19 am Monday, January 5, 2015

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, the second for the lead late in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Cowboys rallied for a 24-20 wild-card win over Detroit on Sunday in their first playoff game in five years.

The Cowboys (12-5) wiped out an early two-touchdown deficit to earn a trip to Green Bay, their first visit there in the postseason since a heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the Ice Bowl in 1967.

The Lions (11-6) went 99 yards for one of two first-quarter touchdowns, but Matthew Stafford couldn’t get them in the end zone again. He fell to 0-2 in the playoffs three years after losing a wild-card game to New Orleans.

Email newsletter signup

The winning drive came after officials reversed a pass interference penalty against Dallas, resulting in a Detroit punt.

Ravens 30, Steelers 17

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Flacco and the NFL’s playoff road warriors are heading to New England with their swagger — and their pass rush — fully intact.

The rarely flustered Flacco tossed two second-half touchdowns and the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17 on Saturday night in the AFC wild-card game.

Flacco hit Torrey Smith for an 11-yard score in the third quarter and found Crockett Gillmore with a 21-yard pass in the fourth one play after Terrell Suggs picked off Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens won in Pittsburgh for the first time in the postseason.

Baltimore (11-6) sacked Roethlisberger five times and kept the NFL’s second-ranked offense off-balance. Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards, but the Steelers (11-6) settled for field goals while the Ravens kept scoring touchdowns against their AFC North rival.

Pittsburgh fell to 9-1 when facing a team for the third time in the same season, and it was not close. Baltimore’s 13-point victory was the fourth-biggest win by a road team in Steelers postseason history.