Brown, who was born Sept. 7, 1908, at 7 W. Elm St. in Norwalk, was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, according to a news release from Mark Hazelwood, media coordinator for the Paul Brown Birthplace Committee.

The fundraising efforts began in 2022, and the statue as well as a new Ohio Historical Marker commemorating his birth in Norwalk, were unveiled Oct. 21 at Suhr Park, 29 W. Main St. across from the Norwalk Public Library.

The event, hosted by the committee, included Brown’s family members in addition to a large number of citizens.

“The statue is just amazing,” said Norwalk Mayor Dave Light. “I’m just astounded at what a good likeness it is of Paul Brown.

“It’s remarkable, and the whole thing will be a great addition to uptown Norwalk.”

Fundraising by the committee kicked off in September 2022, with a campaign that included corporate sponsorships along with engraved paving bricks and granite blocks.

“I’m pleasantly surprised by how quickly it all happened,” Light said. “I really didn’t think it would go this fast, and a big thank-you to everyone who participated.

“It’s just great.”

Approximately 200 individual donations were collected toward the $100,000 goal to commission the statue and pay for other elements, including the granite wall that lists information about Brown’s career in football, the release noted.

“That, too, is a good-looking addition to the streetscape,” said Kathy Root, chair of the Paul Brown Birthplace Committee. “It provides context and information about Paul Brown that is perhaps not so widely known by everyone.”

Sponsors who donated $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 have their business or name engraved on the front of the stadium wall.

Three of the 23 benefactors wished to remain anonymous for their combined total of $105,000.

Dozens of donors bought a brick paver or a granite square, the release noted.

“We’re so grateful to every single donor for their generosity,” Root said.

The life-size likeness of Brown stands nearly 7 feet tall.

The design was approved by Mike Brown, owner and general manager of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Brown is the only surviving son of Paul Eugene and Ida Belle Brown, who lived on West Elm Street.

The likeness of Brown is based on an artist’s rendering created by Norwalk business owners Kevin Hipp of Franklin Monument and Trevor Rood of Foghorn Designs, the release stated.

The granite wall behind the statue lists the coach’s notable accomplishments and innovations to the game of football.

The back side of the wall is etched to look like the façade of a football stadium.

“I think people will really enjoy having this here,” Light said. “I hope that visitors to Norwalk take advantage of the opportunity to see the statue, read about Paul Brown and his impact on pro football, and learn something.

“We want people to come here and see this.”

First coach of the namesake Cleveland NFL team, and a co-founder and first coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, Brown began his Ohio coaching career at Massillon High School before moving on to Ohio State University.

Brown led the Buckeyes to the first of their eight national championships in 1942.

With the Cleveland Browns, Brown was the team’s general manager, head coach and part owner from 1946 until 1962.

During that time, the Browns won four All-America Football Conference championships and three National Football League championships, the release stated.

With the Bengals, he retired from coaching in 1975, but remained as president of that organization until his death in 1991.

The Bengals reached two Super Bowls during his time with the team.

Brown’s all-time coaching record in the NFL stands at 167-53-8 over 17 seasons, with eight league championships.

Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is replacing injured Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt in the Pro Bowl set for Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

This will be the first Pro Bowl appearance for JOK, a third-year linebacker from Notre Dame who led the Browns with 98 tackles. The 2023 season was his best by far. He credited his coaches and teammates for his success.

“I think it was a combination of a lot of things,” JOK said Jan. 14 as the players cleaned out their lockers in Berea. “First and foremost, you put it in a scheme that allows the player to get vertical. You have the players in front. I know the defensive line didn’t necessarily get any sacks or anything, but if you look, they did keep those double teams pretty well for us to get vertical. So I give credit to them.

“Coach (Jason) Tarver (linebackers coach) did a great job preparing us as linebackers to be able to do those things, specifically in those positions that I was in. So, it’s credit to the coaches, my teammates, but also a lot of the stuff that they keyed in on and some of the patience things that you can see from the position that I was in.”

Teller is headed to his third Pro Bowl. He was an alternate on the Pro Bowl team announced last month. Bitonio was voted to the Pro Bowl for a sixth straight time in 2023. He battled a knee injury, back injury, oblique injury and finger injury during the season. His ankle was sprained in the second quarter against the Texans when another player rolled on the back of his leg. He missed a few plays and then was back at left guard. The next day he wore a walking boot in the locker room.

“He’s unbelievable,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Jan. 14 in his wrap-up news conference. “He’s unbelievable. He didn’t have to go back in that game with a high ankle sprain, and most people couldn’t and most people wouldn’t. And he was not going to let his guys down. He battled to the end.

“He’ll rest up and heal up, but he’s a quintessential teammate. That’s what we’re talking about. When you talk about the Cleveland Browns, you talk about guys that will do anything and everything they can for their teammate.”

Wide receiver Amari Cooper, defensive end Myles Garrett, tight end David Njoku and cornerback Denzel Ward from the Browns also made the Pro Bowl this season.

The Browns began trying to fill an unexpected vacancy on Thursday by interviewing Seattle offensive line coach Andy Dickerson to be their offensive coordinator.

Dickerson previously worked in Cleveland on coach Eric Mangini’s staff in 2009-10.

On Wednesday, coordinator Alex Van Pelt parted ways with the Browns after four seasons working under coach Kevin Stefanski. Van Pelt’s departure was surprising since he appeared to enjoy his time in Cleveland and was instrumental in helping the Browns make the playoffs while coping with numerous injuries on offense.

It’s still not known why Van Pelt left. General manager Andrew Berry is scheduled to hold a postseason news conference next week.

Van Pelt’s exit wasn’t the only one as Stefanski fired running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney wasn’t retained after his contract expired.

Dickerson has spent the past three seasons in Seattle working with coach Pete Carroll, who was removed as coach after 14 seasons. Dickerson was initially the Seahawks’ run game coordinator before shifting to the offensive line.

Before he was with Seattle, Dickerson spent nine seasons as an assistant line coach with the Rams. He also worked for the New York Jets after beginning his NFL career as an intern with New England.

A day after his firing, Mitchell, who spent four seasons with Cleveland, released a statement in which he thanked Cleveland owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam and former Browns coach Freddie Kitchens, who first hired him with the Browns.

Mitchell was retained by Stefanski in 2020 and by all measures seemed to do a good job with Cleveland’s backs. Nick Chubb developed into one of the league’s best running backs under Mitchell’s guidance.

“I want to express my sincere thanks to the players and running backs who donned the Browns helmet, giving their all to achieve success on Game Day,” Mitchell wrote. “I devoted my efforts to maximize your hard work and talent, and it has been a rewarding journey.”

The Browns have spoken with former NFL running back Duce Staley about replacing Mitchell.

Staley most recently worked with Carolina under Frank Reich before being fired in November. Staley has also worked for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, where he was on the same staff as Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions and their fans waited a long time to celebrate as they did last week after beating the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is used to being part of the party this time of year.

The Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years, taking advantage of hosting a postseason game for the first time in three decades.

Detroit has two home games in the same playoffs for the first time in franchise history, improving its chances to earn two postseason victories in a season for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title.

The Buccaneers are the only NFC team in the playoffs for a fourth straight year and their win over Philadelphia was their sixth in the postseason during the span, a total that trails only the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs since 2020.

NFC North champion Detroit is determined to move a step closer toward potentially reaching the Super Bowl for the first time with a win Sunday in the divisional round against NFC South champion Tampa Bay, which won it all for a second time in Super Bowl 55 with Tom Brady at quarterback.

Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker, in his eighth season with the long-suffering franchise, is simply thankful he stuck around long enough to experience the thrill of the 24-23 win over the Rams.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about sports, is to be able to see things through,” Decker said. “I’m just proud that I got to be a part of something special.”

THEY’RE BOTH NO. 1

Detroit’s Jared Goff and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield were No. 1 overall picks two years apart — for other teams — and have had their share of success in the playoffs.

With fans at Ford Field chanting, “Jar-ed Goff! Jar-ed Goff!” early and often in last week’s win against former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams, the eighth-year pro was efficient and effective.

Goff completed his first 10 passes and finished 22 of 27 with 277 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a really good quarterback — one of the best I’ve seen on film,” Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum said.

Mayfield, drafted by Cleveland in 2018, had perhaps the best season for his fourth team in three years. He had career highs with 4,044 yards passing and 28 touchdown passes in the regular season and became the first Buccaneers quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a postseason game.

“He looks like he’s having fun like he was in college,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s going out there playing free and playing carefree. It’s really helping him, and it’s really helping us.”

Lions defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson took a verbal swipe at Mayfield last week when he praised Tampa Bay’s receivers, saying they would be a great group if they had a good quarterback.

Mayfield returned some kind words and added a shot.

“He’s a good player,” Mayfield said. “But yeah, he’s just got to do a little more film study.”

SACK DANCE

Detroit defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has a chance to join a select list of players with multiple sacks in four or more consecutive games, including the playoffs. Simeon Rice had at least two sacks in five straight games while Hall of Famers Reggie White and Kevin Greene pulled off the feat in four consecutive games.

Tampa Bay rookie YaYa Diaby, a third-round pick from Louisville, has 7 1/2 sacks to lead a defense that has seven players with at least four sacks.

UNDERDOG MENTALITY

Tampa Bay is a 6 1/2-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, after dominating the Eagles as a 2 1/2-point underdog.

“It doesn’t surprise us at all,” Bowles said. “We don’t even worry about it anymore. We kind of laugh when we see it.”

THE PREVIOUS MATCHUP

Goff threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns to help Detroit win 20-6 at Tampa Bay in Week 6. The Lions played the entire game without rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs and veteran running back David Montgomery was out for two-plus quarters.

Mayfield was 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against the Lions.

AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall contributed.

BUCS AT LIONS

What: NFC Divisional playoff game

When: 3 p.m., Jan. 21

Where: Ford Field, Detroit

Records: Bucs 10-8, Lions 13-5

TV: WKYC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes has done just about everything in his NFL career, particularly when it comes to the postseason.

Five straight AFC title games. Three conference championships. Two Super Bowl titles. One shattered helmet.

Mahomes will try something entirely new Jan. 21, though, when he leads the Kansas City Chiefs into Buffalo for the divisional round of the playoffs. His previous 15 postseason games have been played in the friendly environment of Arrowhead Stadium, including a pair of wins over the Bills, so Mahomes never has been forced to go on the road.

“It kind of is what it is,” he said Jan. 17. “I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of games at home, at Arrowhead Stadium, and things have fallen that way. Now we get to go on the road to a hostile environment, and one I have not played in with fans in the stands. But it’s what you want to do when you grow up watching these games.”

The only time Mahomes has played at Highmark Stadium was in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic saved him from having to tune out all of those Bills fans. He threw for 225 yards and two TDs in leading Kansas City to a 26-17 win that day.

The reason the Chiefs are hitting the road following their wild-card win over the Dolphins is in part because of a rare offensive offside penalty on Kadarius Toney in their regular-season game against Buffalo last month. The call wiped out a miraculous play in which Travis Kelce lateraled to Toney for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes.

The Bills wound up winning, eventually secured the No. 2 seed and that relegated Kansas City to the No. 3 seed.

It might not be such a bad thing that Mahomes is going on the road, though. He has a higher completion percentage, throws for more yards per game and has a significantly better quarterback rating during road games in his career.

He’s even taken eight fewer sacks away from home, despite playing in two more games.

Asked to explain that one, Mahomes replied: “It’s just Coach (Andy) Reid preaches communication.”

“You have to have nonverbal communication when you’re on the road. We preach that,” Mahomes continued, “and then not letting anything be too negative or too positive, just going about your business the right way.

“On the road,” he said, “one big plays seems to be magnified more, and one bad play is magnified more, too.”

All of that bodes well for the Chiefs. So does this: Mahomes is better in the divisional round than any other round, going 5-0 with 11 touchdowns, no interceptions and a completion rate of 70% that is well above his career average.

“I know he looks forward to playing. He gets fired up for every game,” Reid said. “That’s a great venue up there (in Buffalo). If you can’t get fired up for that, it’s hard to get fired up. But he’s always ready and excited.”

Mahomes has certainly been a problem for the Bills, but mostly in the postseason. He won that pandemic game at Highmark Stadium, but is winless in three tries against Josh Allen and Co. in regular-season games at Arrowhead Stadium.

The playoffs are another story. He has ended Buffalo’s season in two of the past three years.

The first time came during the AFC championship game in the 2020 season, when he went 29 of 38 for 325 yards with three touchdowns and no picks in a 38-24 romp. The second came one year later, when he needed a mere 13 seconds to drive Kansas City within range of a tying field goal to end regulation, then hit Kelce for the winning touchdown in overtime in the divisional round.

In those two games, Mahomes completed 76% of his throws for 703 yards with six TD passes, no picks and a touchdown run.

“The Bills are a great challenge. I think everybody understands that,” he said. “They’ve gotten my number a number of times. They beat us earlier this year. We know we’ll have to play great football to win the game. It’s not about ending their season for us. It’s about advancing. Finding a way to get to the next round.”

Notes

DT Derrick Nnadi (elbow) did not practice. LT Wanya Morris (concussion) and WRs Justyn Ross (hamstring) and Kadarius Toney (hip and ankle) did practice after missing last week’s game against Miami. … WR Skyy Moore (knee) returned to practice, beginning a 21-day window to return to the active roster. Moore has been on injured reserve since mid-December, and the Chiefs would have to make room on the 53-man roster for him to play against Buffalo. … LB Cam Jones (chest) was put on IR and LB Cole Christiansen promoted from the practice squad to take his place.

CHIEFS AT BILLS

What: AFC divisional playoff game

When: 6:30 p.m., Jan. 21

Where: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.

Records: Chiefs 12-6, Bills 12-6

TV: WOIO

Running backs coach Stump Mitchell was fired and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney will not be retained.

The news was first reported by Josina Anderson of CBS Sports.

A league source confirmed the decisions on Mitchell and McCartney. The source said Van Pelt is under contract to the Browns for 2024 and that a decision hasn’t been finalized, but Van Pelt confirmed the news himself in a text message to Jake Trotter of ESPN.

“On to the next one,” he said in the text message. “Proud of my time there.”

Mitchell has been the running backs coach since 2019 when Freddie Kitchens was head coach. McCartney was an offensive assistant in 2020 and 2021 and then promoted to tight ends coach in 2022.

Stefanski was asked Jan. 14 during his wrap-up news conference  “Will all your coaches be back?” He gave no clue a major shakeup was in store.

“We’re evaluating everything right now,” he said. “The other thing is some guys will get opportunities over the next couple of weeks, so we’ll see how it all shakes out.”

Van Pelt was faced with a difficult situation in 2023. The Browns used four different starting quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker and Joe Flacco — through the first 16 games. Jeff Driskel started the season finale against the Bengals because Stefanski decided to rest the starters.

Each quarterback had different strengths, which meant tailoring the game plan each week for whichever one was starting. Not until Flacco started games 12 through 16 did any quarterback start more than three consecutive games. The Browns won four straight with Flacco — their longest winning streak of the season.

Watson will be the starting quarterback in 2024, Stefanski said in the wrap-up news conference. Perhaps Stefanski is convinced a different offensive coordinator will get more from Watson than what Watson showed in six starts in 2022 and six in 2023.

Watson was 3-3 in 2022 and technically 5-1 in 2023, though in reality he was 4-1. He started the game against the Colts and then aggravated a shoulder injury before the first quarter ended. The Browns were trailing, 7-0, when the switch was made to Walker. The Browns rallied to win, and since Watson started, he got credit for the victory. He threw 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in his 12 starts.

“Coach Stump,” as the running backs fondly referred to Mitchell, seemed to be highly respected by the players he coached.

Star running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the season. The Browns played with a second-string left tackle (Geron Christian) and third-string right tackle (James Hudson) the last month of the season because of injuries to left tackle Jedrick Wills and right tackles Jack Conklin plus Dawand Jones.

Despite the injuries, the Browns finished 12th in the league in rushing (2,017 yards, 15 touchdowns), but they struggled to run in some late season games — 29 yards on 18 carries vs. the Bears, and 54 yards on 30 carries vs. the Texans on Dec. 24. They managed just 56 yards on 20 carries in the 45-14 wild-card loss to the Texans.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Bills beat the Steelers, 31-17, on Jan. 15 in an AFC wild-card playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard.

The Highmark Stadium stands erupted with snow being tossed into the air like confetti when Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. Shakir caught the pass at the 10 over the middle, and then slipped Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle attempt by spinning around before outracing the rest of the Steelers defenders into the end zone.

The second-seeded Bills (12-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins, advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Jan. 14. The Bills have longed for a home playoff game against the Chiefs after their 2020 and ’21 seasons ended with playoff losses at Kansas City.

Allen finished 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more TD passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score.

Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in his first playoff start for the Steelers (10-8), but Pittsburgh was too inconsistent on either side of the ball to keep up with Allen and the Bills. The Steelers lost their fifth straight playoff game; the franchise’s most recent postseason victory was exactly seven years ago.

The Steelers came out flat, allowing Buffalo to score touchdowns on three of its first five possessions and build a 21-0 lead on Allen’s electrifying touchdown run midway through the second quarter. But Pittsburgh got back into the game by blocking a field goal attempt late in the second quarter, leading to a touchdown.

Rudolph, a longtime backup, took over for the injured Kenny Pickett and ineffective Mitch Trubisky to lead the Steelers to three straight wins to close the regular season and was given the playoff start even after Pickett recovered from an ankle injury.

Buffalo had a to wait an extra day to host the Steelers after a dangerous snowstorm that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the region, leading the NFL to bump the game from its scheduled Jan. 14 afternoon start.

The elements didn’t play much of a factor. Though temperatures were in the teens, the skies were clear and there was only a slight breeze blowing in off Lake Erie.

THE SCORE

Bills 31, Steelers 17

Jimmy Johnson showed more passion on television for winning than any of the Dallas Cowboys did on the field.

Now, Jerry Jones could turn to another coaching icon to save his franchise.

Speculation about Bill Belichick has ramped up. He already is the odds-on favorite to be the next coach in Dallas even though Mike McCarthy hasn’t been fired.

After a dismal performance Jan. 14 against Green Bay, that might be just a matter of time.

Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and the rest of the NFC East champions didn’t show up for a wild-card game against Green Bay. The Cowboys became the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 7 seed since the NFL went to a 14-team playoff format in 2020.

It wasn’t even close. The Cowboys were embarrassed.

Jordan Love and the Packers destroyed Dan Quinn’s defense, dominating Dallas 48-32 in a game they led 27-0 and 48-16.

The Cowboys lost at home for the first time since the 2022 season opener, ending a 16-game winning streak.

Jones has to be out of patience after his team’s latest playoff failure. The 81-year-old owner looked stunned and angry as he watched from his suite. He said this collapse “seems like the most painful” playoff loss he has endured.

“This is beyond my comprehension,” Jones said.

The performance was far worse than the score indicated. The Cowboys came out flat and had little energy and no answers for Green Bay.

Johnson, the Hall of Fame coach who led Dallas to two Super Bowl titles in the mid-1990s and recently was inducted into the team’s ring of honor, was fired up during the halftime show on Fox.

“You get your rear end in there and you play the way you know how to play,” a scowling Johnson shouted into the camera.

His message didn’t reach the ‘Boys.

They were just as uninspired in the second half as they were in the first. The garbage-time points at the end only made it seem less lopsided.

Under McCarthy, the Cowboys are the first team to win 12 games in the regular season for three straight years and not advance to the conference championship. The Super Bowl drought for America’s Team will reach 29 years.

Jones has to be contemplating a change.

He has a talented roster that features four first-team All-Pros and five on the second team, including Prescott and Parsons.

But everyone crumbled under pressure against the Packers.

Prescott threw two interceptions, including a pick-6. Parsons had just one solo tackle and one quarterback hit, and the team had no sacks.

Simply put: Nobody on the Cowboys did their job. Belichick wouldn’t stand for that.

He built a dynasty in New England, winning six Super Bowls in 24 seasons by instilling a team-first culture. Dallas desperately needs a heavy dose of his “do your job” philosophy.

Sure, Belichick couldn’t win after Tom Brady left the Patriots. But he would have Prescott and a strong supporting cast on both sides of the ball.

Coaching matters in the NFL. Matt LaFleur outsmarted McCarthy, Quinn and everyone on Dallas’ sideline. His game plan was executed to perfection by Love and other young, inexperienced players.

After Dallas lost to Green Bay, the Detroit Lions advanced to the divisional round by beating the Rams 24-23 for their first playoff victory in 32 seasons and their second in 65 years.

They were energized by coach Dan Campbell, who took over one of the league’s worst franchises and built it into a winner in just three seasons.

“To be able to do something greater than yourself, it takes everybody around you doing their job and doing it at a high level and you got to be able to trust them,” Campbell said. “It’s special. It’s different than anything, man. It’s why you do what we do. It’s not the money. It’s about the competition, the camaraderie, to be the best of the best collectively.”

The Lions were hoping to play the Cowboys next week in a rematch following a controversial home loss to Dallas in Week 17 that cost them the No. 2 seed. They get that second home game anyway because the Cowboys blew it. Detroit hosts the winner of the Jan.15 matchup between the Eagles and Buccaneers.

As for the Cowboys, the players will start another early vacation while Jones has to figure out the best path to another Lombardi trophy.

It could start with a phone call to Belichick.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jordan Love threw for three touchdowns, Aaron Jones ran for three more and Darnell Savage returned an interception 64 yards for a score and the Packers handed the Cowboys their first home loss since the 2022 opener in a 48-32 wild-card stunner Jan. 14.

Romeo Doubs had a career-high 151 yards receiving a week after being hospitalized with a chest injury as the Packers won Love’s postseason debut after finishing the regular season 6-2 to grab the NFC’s final playoff spot.

Green Bay (10-8) will visit top-seeded San Francisco in the divisional round next weekend.

Dak Prescott threw two interceptions before three mostly empty touchdown passes in another playoff flop for him and the No. 2 seed Cowboys (12-6).

Dallas had won its previous 16 regular-season home games, but now has allowed the most points in a game in the club’s postseason history. The previous high was 38.

The Cowboys, who haven’t reached an NFC championship since the most recent of their five Super Bowl titles 28 years ago, didn’t trail by more than eight points at AT&T Stadium this season before falling behind 27-0 in the first half.

The loss will raise questions about the future of Dallas coach Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys lost their playoff opener at home for the second time in three postseasons under the former Green Bay coach.

Dallas is the first team to win at least 12 games in three consecutive playoff seasons without making a conference title game.

The Packers have never lost in six trips to AT&T Stadium — including the Super Bowl over Pittsburgh during the 2010 season. They now have two playoff victories over the Cowboys after Aaron Rodgers led a 34-31 divisional win when Dallas was the NFC’s top seed in 2016, Prescott’s rookie year.

Those Packers let a 21-3 lead slip away. These Packers, with the four-time MVP’s successor, left little doubt with a 48-16 fourth-quarter lead before two late Dallas TDs.

Facing the NFL’s fifth-best defense, Green Bay matched its Super Bowl-winning team from 2010 for the most points in a playoff game. That was also on the road, a 48-21 victory at top-seeded Atlanta in the divisional round.

Doubs, who returned to the Green Bay sideline after his hospital trip before the end of last week’s 17-9 home victory over Chicago that secured a playoff spot, had 102 yards at halftime. It was seven more than the second-year player’s previous best.

First-half catches of 22, 26 and 39 yards helped get Love going, and the fourth-year QB finished 16 of 21 for 272 yards as the Packers scored touchdowns on seven of their first eight drives in their highest-scoring game since 2014.

One of them was set up by Prescott’s first interception at the Dallas 19-yard line, from Jaire Alexander after he was questionable coming in when he sprained an ankle during the week.

A 46-yard grab by Doubs early in the second half helped finish off the Cowboys after they had scored 10 points on either side of the break. Doubs, Luke Musgrave and Dontayvion Wicks had TD catches.

Jones rushed for 118 yards, putting him over the century mark in all four career games against the Cowboys with nine touchdowns.

The crowd under the retractable roof on a frigid day in the Dallas area had already been stone-cold silenced when Prescott tried to throw a slant to top receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Savage, who went without an interception in the regular season for the first time in his five-year career, stepped in front and run untouched for a 27-0 lead with 1:50 left before halftime.

Prescott finished 41 of 60 for 403 yards, with all three of his touchdowns to tight end Jake Ferguson.

THE SCORE

Packers 48, Cowboys 32

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Logan Eschrich came to Buffalo to witness the snowstorm, and he stayed for the shoveling on Jan. 14.

Once the professional storm chaser saw the Buffalo Bills invite fans to help dig out a snow-filled Highmark Stadium for their delayed playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, now scheduled for Jan. 15, Eschrich couldn’t resist.

Sniffling and shivering from the cold, Eschrich detailed the seemingly impossible task he and the estimated 85-person shovel crew faced while being compensated $20 an hour. Winds whipped at 30 mph (48 kph), and snow was falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour at what was supposed to be the game’s 1 p.m. kickoff, which has been pushed back to Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m.

“It would have been absolutely impossible (to play). We could barely see the next row down from us. And unfortunately, it’s still that way,” Eschrich told The Associated Press by phone in the mid-afternoon. “We made progress shoveling, but not much at all.”

He said bleacher seats were entirely buried by snow, adding that it was treacherous to travel the mere two blocks to the stadium from where he camped overnight.

“I’m very happy they put the travel ban into effect,” said Eschrich, who works for Live Storms Media, and made the 16-hour trip north from Alabama, where he had planned to get video of tornadoes. “Nobody should be out here.”

The Buffalo region, which includes the Bills’ home in Orchard Park, was mostly at a standstill, with a travel ban in place due to a dangerous lake-effect storm that began on Jan. 13 and was expected to last through the night of Jan. 14.

The storm was projected to dump up between 1 and 3 feet of snow, with the heaviest accumulation around Orchard Park.

With the storm’s brunt expected to wane by the night of Jan. 14, the National Weather Service’s forecast for Jan. 15 called for a chance of snow showers in the morning and a high of 19 degrees, but with strong wind making it feel like minus-5.

On Jan. 14, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she expected the game to kick off as scheduled, with the end of the storm allowing time for roads and the stadium to be cleared of snow. A day earlier, Hochul and the NFL cited public safety concerns as the reason to push the game back to Monday.

Bills players and staff spent Jan. 14 at home. The Steelers arrived in the afternoon with travel restrictions having been lifted at Buffalo Niagara International Airport and northern parts of Erie County.

Former Bills center Eric Wood recalled his first time experiencing a lake-effect storm in Buffalo in November 2014, which has since been dubbed “Snowvember.” The storm dumped nearly 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow on Orchard Park over a four-day stretch and led to Buffalo’s home game against the New York Jets being moved to Detroit.

Wood was among seven Bills players in his neighborhood who had to be picked up by snowmobile and transported to the team’s facility before being bused to the airport.

“The whiteout conditions are like nothing I had ever experienced,” said Wood, who’s from Cincinnati. “Until you experience this snow and understand its effect, it’s hard to appreciate what can truly happen in such a short amount of time, and often without notice.”

Wood’s next experience with lake-effect snow happened in December 2017, when a storm hit an hour before kickoff and caused whiteout conditions inside the stadium during a game against Indianapolis. Stadium crews were unable to keep up with the falling snow, using blowers to uncover the yard lines.

There field was so blanketed by snow that Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri lost his footing and missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt as time expired, and Buffalo won 13-7 in overtime on LeSean McCoy’s 21-yard touchdown run. Bills players celebrated by making snow angels and throwing snowballs.

“Fans had a ton of fun watching us slip and slide over the field, but it wasn’t always fun to play in, not being able to move, and you’re freezing and all that,” Wood recalled with a laugh.

Today, it’s a cherished memory for Wood, in part because the win helped the Bills snap a 17-season playoff drought.

Former Bills special teams star Steve Tasker said the wintry conditions usually favor the home team.

“It’s not the being able to practice in the bad stuff that makes you ready to play on days like that, it’s living in it that makes you ready,” Tasker said. “Those guys get off the plane from say, Miami or Houston, and it just slaps you in the face.”

Tasker, however, noted the Steelers are accustomed to playing in the cold, which should even out any advantages on Jan. 15.

One thing is certain for Tasker who, like Wood, is part of the Bills’ radio broadcast team. Fun as it was playing in the elements, he’s going to enjoy his spot in the warm comfort of the radio booth.

“I’m very happy where I’m at,” Tasker said, laughing. “I’m not going to trade it for anything.”