NFL:
The Kansas City Chiefs’ eight-game winning streak is over and they’ve lost the pole position in the AFC playoff race with their 34-31 loss at Cincinnati.
The Tennessee Titans are now the top seed heading into Week 18. The Titans ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak with a 34-3 win.
Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes as the Tennessee Titans clinched their second straight AFC South title, snapping the Miami Dolphins’ seven-game winning streak.
Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal as time ran out, and the Bengals earned their first AFC North title and postseason appearance in six years with the win over AFC West champion Kansas City.
Joe Burrow threw for 466 yards and four scores, breaking Cincinnati's single-season passing record, while rookie Ja’Marr Chase had a franchise-record and NFL rookie record 266 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
In other NFL action:
Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, A.J. Dillon ran for two more scores and the Green Bay Packers routed the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 to wrap up the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Green Bay’s victory, coupled with Philadelphia’s 20-16 triumph at Washington, dropped the Vikings from postseason contention and gave the Eagles a playoff berth. The Packers are the lone NFL team with an unbeaten home record and have a chance to reach the Super Bowl without leaving Lambeau Field, where the temperature was 11 degrees just before kickoff.
Daniel Carlson kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Raiders a 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Derek Carr found Hunter Renfrow for 24 yards on third-and-10 in the final minute, setting the stage for Carlson’s third field goal of the game. Las Vegas could wrap up a playoff spot if they beat the Chargers next weekend.
The Los Angeles Chargers moved back into a playoff spot in the AFC with a 34-13 victory over the Denver Broncos. Justin Herbert threw for two touchdowns, while Andre Roberts returned a kickoff 101 yards for a score for L.A. While they are in the final wild-card spot now, Los Angeles will need to beat Las Vegas next week to secure a postseason berth.
The AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills rallied to clinch their third consecutive playoff berth with a 29-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Devin Singletary scored two touchdowns rushing in the second half to make up for a sloppy performance from Josh Allen. The Buffalo quarterback did score two rushing touchdowns himself but also threw three interceptions.
Rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes and Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for two scores apiece to put the New England Patriots in the playoffs with a 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Patriots snapped a two-game losing streak and gave Bill Belichick his 20th 10-win season as a head coach, tying Don Shula for the most in NFL history.
The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 20-19, devastating their postseason hopes. The Ravens were called for a crucial delay-of-game penalty on third-and-goal from the 4. After settling for a field goal, they allowed the Rams to drive the other way. L.A. quarterback Matthew Stafford shook off three turnovers to throw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. with 57 seconds left. The victory pushed the Rams to the cusp of their second straight NFC West title.
Antonio Brown was kicked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a bizarre, shirtless exit from the field before Tom Brady coolly led the Bucs on a 93-yard drive in the final minutes for a 28-24 victory over the New York Jets. Brown’s mid-game meltdown came late in the third quarter with Tampa Bay trailing 24-10. He appeared animated while talking to teammate Mike Evans when he stripped off from the waist up, tossing his gloves and T-shirt into the stands.
The Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff spot after beating Washington 20-16. Jalen Hurts scrambled out of trouble while showing no ill effects from a recent ankle injury, running six times for 45 yards. Boston Scott rushed for two touchdowns. Rodney McLeod picked off Taylor Heinicke in the end zone with 24 seconds remaining to seal it.
Rookie Trey Lance overcame a first-half interception to throw two touchdown passes in the second half, and the San Francisco 49ers closed in on a playoff berth with a 23-7 victory over the Houston Texans. Lance got the start for the 49ers with Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined by a thumb injury. The Niners can clinch the playoffs with a loss by New Orleans or a win next week against the Rams.
Alvin Kamara turned a short pass into New Orleans’ first touchdown in more than 11 quarters, and the Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 18-10. The victory assured New Orleans would head into the final week of the regular season still in the hunt for an NFC wild-card playoff spot. Taysom Hill passed for 222 yards and led the Saints in rushing with just 45.
Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes to Antoine Wesley and the Arizona Cardinals held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-22 in a matchup of playoff-bound teams. The outcome didn’t do much to change the races for the NFC’s No. 1 seed or the NFC West. But the Cardinals ended a three-game skid a week after backing into the postseason while stopping the NFC East champion’s four-game winning streak.
The Seattle Seahawks routed the Detroit Lions 51-29. Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 170 yards and two touchdowns, while Russell Wilson threw three of his four TD passes to DK Metcalf.
Robert Quinn broke Hall of Famer Richard Dent’s franchise single-season record with his 18th sack, and the Chicago Bears pounded the New York Giants 29-3. Trevis Gipson added a career-high two sacks for the Bears.
NHL:
Igor Shesterkin stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.
Mika Zibanejad took care of the offense, with his eighth career hat trick. Ryan Strome also scored.
New York was without star forward Artemi Panarin, who was placed in COVID-19 protocols before the game.
In other NHL action:
Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the game with 2:04 left in overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals. Washington rallied late in regulation to force overtime, with Nic Dowd pulling the Capitals within a goal with 6:38 remaining and Conor Sheary tying it with 3:47 left.
Evan Rodrigues and Bryan Rust both finished off hat tricks in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks 8-5 for their eighth straight win. The Pens built a 6-1 lead in the first period, but needed Rodrigues and Rust's insurance goals after San Jose narrowed it to 6-5 with three goals in the final period.
Erik Haula scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period and the Boston Bruins pulled away with three more in the third to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1. Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves as Boston won for the second time in two days after six consecutive postponements due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Colorado Avalanche rallied from two goals down past the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Logan O’Connor scored a tiebreaking goal late in the third period, while Mikko Rantanen (MEE’-koh RAN’-tah-nehn) had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche. Colorado had not played since Dec. 16 due to COVID-19 cases on the team.
Kyle Connor scored in overtime and the Winnipeg Jets held off the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in their return from a two-week hiatus. Mattias Janmark scored twice for Vegas in the third period, including a tying goal with 8.1 seconds left, but Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck improved to 4-1-1 career against the Golden Knights by stopping 42 shots.
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and the Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. Matthew Tkachuk scored for a third straight game. Chicago dropped its fourth straight.
Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett has been suspended three games without pay by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paquette during a game Saturday.
Paquette took possession of the puck in front of his own net and turned up ice to make a pass when Bennett glided in and drove a shoulder into Paquette’s head. Paquette left with a neck injury and did not return.
NBA:
Jaylen Brown scored a career-high 50 points, rallying the Boston Celtics from 14 points down late in the fourth quarter to a 116-111 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic.
Brown scored 21 in the fourth quarter, then opened OT with his fifth 3-pointer of the game. Brown, whose previous career high was 46 against the Knicks on Oct. 20, also finished with 11 rebounds as the Celtics avoided losing for the fourth time in five games.
Marcus Smart added 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who needed an 11-2 run down the stretch to force overtime.
In other NBA action:
LeBron James scored 26 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers hung on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-103. A couple of streaks came to an end in the Lakers’ first game of the new year. They were James’ run of seven straight games with at least 30 points and Russell Westbrook’s stretch of four straight triple-doubles.
Luka Doncic had 14 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in his return from a 10-game absence, and Dallas beat Oklahoma City 95-86. Doncic played with a long brace on his left knee and saw just over 31 minutes in his first game in 23 days. Josh Giddey had 17 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, becoming the youngest NBA player to have a triple-double at 19 years, 2 months, 23 days.
The short-handed Phoenix Suns hammered the Charlotte Hornets 133-99. Devin Booker scored 24 points, Jalen Smith tied a career high with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Paul had 16 assists to help the Suns improve to 28-8 — a half-game behind Golden State for the NBA lead. They had lost three of their previous four.
Fred VanVleet scored 19 of his season-high 35 points in the third quarter, and the Toronto Raptors beat a depleted New York Knicks team 120-105.
Pascal Siakam had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who won back-to-back games for the first time in three weeks.
The Sacramento Kings ended the Miami Heat’s five-game winning streak with a 115-113 victory. De’Aaron Fox scored 11 of his 24 points over the final six minutes, including two free throws with 6.2 seconds left for Sacramento. Damian Jones had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 108-104 win over the Indiana Pacers. Rookie Evan Mobley had 24 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Love scored 20 points for Cleveland.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Gabe Brown scored 20 points, Marcus Bingham Jr. added 13 and No. 10 Michigan State rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit for a 73-67 victory over Northwestern.
Max Christie had 11 points and Joey Hauser added 10 as the Spartans won their seventh straight.
In other top 25 men's college basketball:
Fabian White Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 14 points to lead depleted No. 12 Houston past Temple 66-61. Houston had 10 players available and only seven played.
No. 13 Ohio State needed overtime, but the Buckeyes used it well, beating Nebraska 87-79. Freshman Malaki Branham scored 35 points and Jamari Wheeler made two 3-pointers early in the overtime for an Ohio State team that hadn’t played since Dec. 11 because of a COVID-19 outbreak in their program.
In women’s college basketball, Stony Brook defeated Hartford, 77-39. In men’s college basketball, Hartford, UMass, Marist, Iona, Siena and UAlbany all postponed their Sunday games due to COVID-19 issues.
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