Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more and the New York Giants routed the Indianapolis Colts 38-10 to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Landon Collins, one of two players from the ’16 team, broke the game open late in the second quarter with a 52-yard pick-6 as the Giants put a final stamp on a surprising playoff run. The Giants are the third team from the NFC East to make the playoffs, joining the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
The lengthy slide of the New York Jets finally reached the bottom. From legitimate playoff contenders barely a month ago, to yet another postseason spent at home as a spectator. New York was eliminated from the postseason after a 23-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, ensuring that for the 12th straight season the Jets won’t be part of the NFL playoffs, the longest active drought in the league. The Jets (7-9) last reached the postseason in 2011 and will finish with a losing record for the seventh straight season. New York quarterback Mike White returned after missing two games with fractured ribs, but threw two interceptions in a shaky performance.
Kyle Dugger intercepted Teddy Bridgewater and returned it 39 yards for a go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter, and the New England Patriots kept their playoff hopes alive by rallying to beat the Miami Dolphins 23-21. Mac Jones had touchdown passes to Tyquan Thornton and Jakobi Meyers to help the Patriots snap a four-game losing streak to their AFC East rivals. Jones finished 20 of 33 for 203 yards. The Dolphins lost their fifth straight and will need to win next week against the Jets and need Buffalo to beat New England to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016. Teddy Bridgewater left late in the third quarter with an injured finger.
Kenny Pickett threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens and improbably keeping their playoff hopes alive for another week. It was the first touchdown allowed by Baltimore at home in four games, and the Steelers needed it to avoid elimination. Just like they needed Miami to lose to New England earlier in the day, which also happened. Pittsburgh can now make the playoffs by beating Cleveland next weekend — if Miami and New England both lose. The Ravens' chances of winning the AFC North took a hit.
Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and the Green Bay Packers continued their improbable playoff push by shutting down Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings in a 41-17 blowout. Keisean Nixon scored on a 105-yard kickoff return and Darnell Savage had a 75-yard pick-6 of Kirk Cousins to help Green Bay build a 27-3 halftime lead. Aaron Jones rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries and A.J. Dillon had a 2-yard touchdown run as the Packers won their fourth straight. Green Bay would make the playoffs with a win over Detroit in its regular-season finale.
Tom Brady threw for 432 yards and three long touchdowns to Mike Evans, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch their second straight NFC South championship with a 30-24 come-from-behind win over the Carolina Panthers. Evans finished with 10 catches for 207 yards while scoring on receptions of 63, 57, and 30 yards and becoming the first player in NFL history to begin a career with nine consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards receiving. The Panthers led 14-0 early and 21-10 after Sam Darnold’s third TD pass of the day, 10 seconds into the fourth quarter. It was all Bucs from there.
The Bills showdown at the Bengals on Monday night features the first of what's expected to be many more quarterback matchups between Buffalo's Josh Allen and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow. The two have established themselves as being among the NFL's top young stars and transformed their respective teams into contenders. The matchup alone is must-watch TV for many, with the outcome playing a big role in determining who finishes first in the AFC. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
NBA
Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, and the hot-shooting Denver Nuggets beat the Boston Celtics 123-111 in a matchup of NBA conference leaders that was delayed about 35 minutes because a powerful dunk bent one of the rims. Denver won for the 10th time in 12 games, snapped a six-game skid against Boston and opened a one-game lead in the Western Conference. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 for the Celtics, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Nuggets led by as many as 18 and waited out a long delay with 6:43 left as a crew struggled to re-level the rim after a dunk by Boston’s Robert Williams III.
The rim was bent, nobody seemed to know how to fix it and for 35 minutes Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets players struggled to stay warm in a bizarre scene that left Celtics star Jaylen Brown fuming. Boston’s Robert Williams III seemed to be the culprit, after he hung on the rim following a thunderous dunk with 8:06 left in the fourth quarter in Denver. Soon after, that rim was leaning a bit to the left. Finally, after a long delay, a worker put the rim back up and it appeared it was level. The crowd roared as the teams ran through layup lines to get loose again in the middle of the fourth quarter. Soon play resumed and the Nuggets won 123-111.
NHL
The Rangers beat Florida 5-3.
Seattle defeated the Islanders 4-1.
Ottawa bested Buffalo 3-1.
Carolina got by New Jersey in a shootout 5-4.
The 2023 Winter Classic is back this afternoon in Boston this season, as the Bruins host the Penguins at Fenway Park for the 14th edition of the New Year's festivities. Game time is 2 p.m. on TNT.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
After the best semifinal day in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff, the title game will match the defending national champion against the closest thing the sport has had in years to a Cinderella team. It will be No. 1 Georgia, looking for its second straight championship, against upstart and No. 3 TCU on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The four-team playoff has been littered with lopsided semifinal games, but these were both thrillers. The Bulldogs came from 14 points down to beat No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 in the Peach Bowl. TCU upset No. 2 Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl.
TCU thought so much of Max Duggan at the beginning of the season that he lost his job. Georgia seemed like it spent years trying to give its starting quarterback job to anyone not named Stetson Bennett. If they gave out five stars for resiliency, these two guys would have been some of the highest-rated recruits in the country. Now the underdogs-turned-legends at their respective schools will fight it out for the national championship on Jan. 9 in Inglewood, California. No. 3 TCU upset No. 2 Michigan 51-45 and No. 1 Georgia rallied to beat No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 in a pair of semifinal games that were among the best the College Football Playoff ever has produced.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The University at Albany men’s basketball team opened America East play with one of its worst first-half performances of the season in a 67-51 loss to the University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Hudson Valley Community College.
Meanwhile, The University at Albany women’s basketball team started 2023 with a 71-46 win at the University of New Hampshire Sunday afternoon.
Senior forward Helene Haegerstrand reached 1,000 career points with two free throws early in the fourth quarter, finishing with seven.
The Siena men’s basketball team began 2023 by beating Fairfield 70-61. Siena won its fourth game in a row to improve to 9-5 overall, 3-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
