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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe 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.
Baltimore heads to top-seeded New England next Saturday.
PANTHERS 27, CARDINALS 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cam Newton threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns, Carolina's defense set an NFL record for fewest yards allowed in a postseason game, and the Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals.
It was Carolina's first playoff win in nine years and Newton's first playoff victory since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Jonathan Stewart ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on a rain-soaked afternoon.
The Panthers held Arizona (11-6) to 78 yards, intercepted Ryan Lindley twice and sacked him four times. Carolina had 386 yards. The New York Giants held the previous NFL record for fewest yards in a postseason game, limiting Cleveland to 86 yards on Dec. 21, 1958.
The Panthers (8-8-1) will play at top-seeded Seattle next weekend if Dallas beats Detroit on Sunday. If the Lions win, the Panthers play at Green Bay.
After a 9-1 start, Arizona's once promising season was undone by a rash of injuries, including to quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.
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