Freischaltung » The Dallas Cowboys are placing the franchise tag on

DeMarcus Lawrence for the second straight year. Their star defensive end doesn’t appear to be in any rush to sign the lucrative one-year contract this time.Two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday the Cowboys had decided on another tag while the sides keep working on a long-term deal. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn’t been announced.The move means Lawrence has a one-year offer for $20.5 million http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-hunter-renfrow-jersey , 120 percent more than he made under the tag last season. Even if the 26-year-old signs it, Lawrence and his representatives have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with Dallas.Last year, Lawrence signed a $17.1 million contract the same day the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him. He seemed happy to try to prove a career-best season with 14½ sacks in 2017 wasn’t a fluke.Not long after another Pro Bowl year and double-digit sacks with 10½ last season, Lawrence took to Twitter to indicate he’s now looking for a long-term deal. If he doesn’t sign the one-year tender under the franchise tag, Lawrence can skip offseason workouts without being fined.Two-time All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell missed the entire 2018 season with Pittsburgh after refusing to sign under the franchise tag.The Cowboys have plenty of incentive to get a deal done with Lawrence. He’s the centerpiece of a defense with several rising stars, including linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch.Defense was a liability for Dallas in Lawrence’s injury-filled early years. But that unit helped the Cowboys and their sluggish offense recover from a 3-5 start to win the NFC East for the third time in five years. The Cowboys beat Seattle in the wild-card round before a divisional playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.A happy and healthy Lawrence could be one of the keys to the future of coach Jason Garrett as well. Owner Jerry Jones decided not to extend Garrett’s contract beyond 2019 after his second playoff win in his third postseason appearance in eight seasons.The Cowboys haven’t reached the NFC championship game since the 1995 season, when they won the last of their five Super Bowl titles.Dallas also ended up getting burned by the last long-term deal connected to the franchise tag. Receiver Dez Bryant refused to sign under the tag in 2015 before the sides finally reached a five-year deal just hours before the July deadline.Bryant, the franchise leader in touchdown catches, had three subpar seasons under the $70 million contract that included $45 million guaranteed. He was released in a cost-cutting move before last season.Lawrence has 34 sacks over five seasons. The Cowboys moved up in the second round to draft him in 2014, believing he was the last pass rusher on the board with difference-making skills. He was the first defensive end Dallas drafted after releasing franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware earlier that offseason.
The Jacksonville Jaguars frittered away a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in losing 24-20 to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, yet their unraveling really began in the final 2+ minutes of the first half.

As Jacksonville threatened to expand a 14-3 lead Zach Brown Jersey , New England coach Bill Belichick called a timeout with 2:20 remaining and things started falling apart for the Jaguars, who would lead until succumbing in the final minutes of a 24-20 heartbreaker.

After the timeout, Blake Bortles dropped back on third-and-7 and zinged a beautiful 12-yard pass that Marcedes Lewis caught at the New England 32, putting the Jaguars within striking distance of a 17-3 or even 21-3 halftime cushion.

Only, the Jaguars were flagged for delay of game.

”Yeah I just thought out of the timeout we lost track,” lamented coach Doug Marrone.

Bortles was sacked for a six-yard loss on third-and-12, when the Patriots declined a holding penalty.

So the clock was running when the Jaguars inexplicably rushed their punt with 24 seconds to spare on the play clock.

Danny Amendola’s fair catch of Brad Nortman’s punt at his 14 came with 2:02 remaining, which essentially gave Brady and Belichick an extra timeout with which to work.

On first-and-10 from his 40, Brady threw a long pass for Rob Gronkowski, who was injured when he got popped by Barry Church on a helmet-to-helmet hit. Church was called for unnecessary roughness, putting the ball at the Jacksonville 45.

”It was a tough call Shareef Miller Jersey ,” Church said, ”but you’ve got to go with what they call.”

A.J. Bouye was called for pass interference on Brandin Cooks on the next play. The 32-yard penalty gave the Patriots the ball at the Jaguars 13. After a 12-yard catch by Cooks, James White ran it in from the 1 to make it 14-10 with just under a minute left in the half.

That was the 14th time this season the Patriots scored in the last two minutes before halftime.

Even though they had two timeouts and 55 seconds to work with, Bortles twice took a knee and the Jaguars, who had deferred to the second half, went into the locker room up by four, yet it was the Patriots who were feeling good about things.

”We came in at halftime with a good level of confidence that it was a four-point game and we hadn’t played well,” Belichick said. ”If we could get it going then we could win the game. It took us a little while to do that, but that was a big drive for us.”

Asked afterward if he had any regrets about not trying to score in the final minute of the first half, Marrone said: ”I think more the second-half kickoff. They came down and we had to make some adjustments going into halftime. Wanted to make sure we got that done knowing we were going in getting the ball back.”

The Jaguars scored on their opening possession of the second half, and Josh Lambo followed up his 53-yard field goal with a 43-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter that made it 20-10.

No team had ever overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of an AFC championship Devin Bush Jersey , but coveted coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia , in what might have been their last game on the home sideline at Gillette Stadium, made all the right adjustments, further burnishing their head coaching credentials.

Brady started pushing the ball downfield to his receivers and the New England defense took away the short middle and dared Bortles to start making plays downfield, too.

While Bortles managed a single first down in the fourth quarter, Brady came through with a pair of TD throws to Amendola.

Amendola had the crucial catch on the first TD drive, hauling in a 21-yard pass from Brady on third-and-18 in front of safety Tashaun Gipson, who said he figures he’d break up that pass nine out of 10 times.

”That play kind of gave them momentum,” Gipson said.

It was vintage Brady, too.

”He is the greatest quarterback to ever play this game,” Gipson said. ”You can never have a safe lead with 12 at the helm. We knew we had to keep our foot on the gas.”

Which http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-diontae-johnson-jersey , remember, they didn’t do at the end of the first half.

The Patriots’ comeback set up a Super Bowl 52 showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were miffed last week when the NFL mistakenly released an ad that featured Brady and Case Keenum with the Super Bowl trophy between them, signifying a New England-Minnesota matchup.

Instead, it’ll be Nick Foles and the Eagles, who routed the Vikings 38-7 in the NFC championship game, trying to dethrone Brady and the Patriots.

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