PHILADEPLHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa homered, and Zack Wheeler delivered like a Game 7 ace to bring the Philadelphia Phillies back from the brink of collapse and send them into the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday that clinched the final National League wild-card berth.
Jhoan Duran struck out Nick Fortes to end it. The Phillies will play Game 1 in a best-of-three Wild Card Series on Tuesday in Atlanta.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca hits a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott is safe at home before Tampa Bay Rays catcher Nick Fortes (40) can make the in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Tampa Bay Rays' Cedric Mullins, left, is safe at second before Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) can tag him out in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper is cheered in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
The AL East champion Rays earned a postseason bye last week and will play the winner of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees series beginning Saturday. Jonny DeLuca homered twice for the Rays.
The Phillies could have clinched a playoff berth as early as Wednesday before they lost four straight games and nearly coughed up their wild-card lead to Arizona.
Bryson Stott had an RBI double in the first inning off Rays starter Nick Martinez (15-6) that seemed to ease some pressure off the Phillies.
J.T Realmuto snapped an 0-for-34 skid in the second with an RBI double and Kyle Schwarber ripped a two-run double and belly-flopped into second base. That made it 4-0 and got a rise out of the crowd on a rainy day at the ballpark.
Harper hit a solo shot and Sosa added a two-run drive in the fifth for a 7-1 lead. The Phillies had 12 hits.
Jesús Luzardo was activated off the injured list following a stint with left shoulder inflammation and threw only four pitches in a scoreless eighth. He pitched for the first time since he threw his first career shutout on Sept. 7 against Atlanta.
Wheeler (14-5) struck out five and allowed one run in six innings in a game interim manager Don Mattingly called a Game 7.
Philadelphia had a 6 1/2-game lead over Arizona for the third NL wild card on Sept. 1 before going into a tailspin that spurred painful memories of the 1964 season.
This year's Phillies were instead set to pop some bubbly.
The Phillies had won consecutive NL East titles and finished 96-66 last season. They finished this season behind Atlanta in the NL East and went 88-74. But they earned their fifth straight playoff appearance, tying the club record set from 2007-11 when they won five consecutive NL East titles.
The Rays rebounded from 77-85 last season to go 98-64.
Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero became the fourth player since the beginning of divisional play in 1969 to start 162 games at third base after Sal Bando (1969), Cal Ripken Jr. (1997) and Vinny Castilla (1998). Harper also played 162 games for the Phillies.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca hits a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott is safe at home before Tampa Bay Rays catcher Nick Fortes (40) can make the in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Tampa Bay Rays' Cedric Mullins, left, is safe at second before Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) can tag him out in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper is cheered in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen spent all week telling his players that what mattered most was how they responded.
It would have been tough to imagine anything better than this.
Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, including one on which Parker Washington made a fingertip catch in the end zone, and the Jaguars bounced back from their worst offensive performance in nearly a year to dominate New England 35-6 on Sunday.
“You get what you emphasize so much with this team," said Coen, who became the first NFL coach to win 15 of his first 20 games since Green Bay's Matt LaFleur in 2020.
The Jaguars (2-1) won their sixth consecutive regular-season home game and raised more questions about Drake Maye’s regression with the Patriots.
Maye fumbled twice, losing one, and threw two more interceptions before getting pulled in the fourth quarter. He now has one TD pass and six INTs in three games. He threw 31 touchdowns and eight picks last season for the AFC champion Patriots (1-2).
“I’m always going to be confident in myself to make plays," Maye said. "If there’s one thing, I’m going to go out there and compete. I’m going to leave it all out there. Competing comes with being confident and being confident in this league is realizing that these mistakes, you got to eliminate them.
"More that we get out of our own way, the more the confidence in myself and this team will build. That’s something that starts with practice and it starts with me.”
Maye’s performance in this one was more alarming than his three-interception fourth quarter in the season opener at Seattle. The ball slipped out of his right hand with no one around him during one play. He threw into coverage on a third-and-goal play, resulting in Travis Hunter’s first career interception. He also threw a pass directly to cornerback Jarrian Jones that set up another score for Jacksonville.
“I think he knows what to do," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "I think we have to do it better. We all want to make plays. We just have to make some good ones. If it’s not there, I think sometimes you can want it too badly, and we can’t force it.”
New England had other issues, too: Andy Borregales missed a 38-yard field goal; Kyle Williams mistakenly stepped out of bounds on a kickoff return; and Mack Hollins was flagged for taunting at the end of a 9-yard reception, turning a fourth-and-1 play into a field goal.
The Jaguars played much cleaner.
Lawrence completed 19 of 29 passes for 182 yards, with an interception on a tipped pass. He connected with Jakobi Meyers and Josh Cameron for TDs. Cameron got significant snaps in place of Brian Thomas Jr., who dropped two passes in last week’s 20-13 loss at Denver.
Meyers had seven receptions for 64 yards against his former team, and Bhayshul Tuten added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown — after Lawrence took a knee at the 1 to try to milk the clock with more than eight minutes left.
“We were just ready to play,” Lawrence said. “Guys were flying around. At the end of the day, that's what it's about. It's the players executing the plan. You got to have a good plan, and we did. But it's about us going out there and owning it, playing fast and executing. We did all those things today.”
Facing a first-and-30 play after back-to-back penalties, the Patriots dialed up some trickiness in Jacksonville territory. And it worked despite a lot of adversity.
Maye threw a backward pass to Efton Chism III, who had to elude Jones’ tackle near the sideline. Chism stayed on his feet and completed a pass to Mack Hollins that was tipped by cornerback Travis Hunter. It was far from pretty but resulted in a 16-yard gain that led to a field goal.
Jacksonville’s Cam Little just missed making a 70-yard field goal, which would have broken his NFL record. Little attempted the long kick at the end of the first half and pushed it just a couple feet right.
Little had the distance, which was no surprise considering he made a 70-yard in a preseason game against Pittsburgh in 2025. He set the real NFL mark later that year with a 68-yarder at Las Vegas in early November.
Patriots: RG Greg Van Roten left in the first half with a thigh injury and did not return. DT Christian Barmore (shoulder) and CB Carlton Davis III also missed snaps but returned.
Patriots: Play at Buffalo next Sunday.
Jaguars: Play at Cincinnati next Sunday.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. (57) sacks New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) in the second half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) intercepts a pass intended for New England Patriots wide receiver Efton Chism III (86) in the first half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Davon Hamilton (52) tackles New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) in the first half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) kneels against the New England Patriots in the second half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) passes against New England Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder (91) in the second half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
