Josh Allen shrugged off a three-turnover outing by throwing two touchdown passes 3:11 apart in the third quarter, and the Buffalo Bills rallied for a 34-31 win over the injury-depleted Miami Dolphins in an AFC wild-card match-up. Cole Beasley scored the go-ahead touchdown with a 6-yard catch, and Gabe Davis extended the lead to 34-24 with a 23-yard TD reception in a game where Buffalo squandered an early 17-0 lead. The Bills will host the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday. Three weeks earlier, the Bills' game at Cincinnati was suspended and ultimately canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin's heart stopped on the field. Hamlin is recovering.
Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the New York Giants in a 31-24 victory over Minnesota in the wild-card round. The Vikings took their first loss in a one-score game of the season. Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. The Giants defense finished off the franchise’s first playoff win since the Super Bowl 11 years ago. The Giants advanced to play at No. 1 seed and division rival Philadelphia.
Sam Hubbard returned Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 in an AFC wild-card game. Facing third-and-goal at the 1 with about 12 minutes left, Huntley tried to go over the top of the line for the go-ahead score. But he was stood up by Germaine Pratt and stripped by fellow linebacker Logan Wilson. The ball went right to Hubbard at the 2, and the defensive end took off down the field for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in NFL postseason history.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is still recovering after going into cardiac arrest on the field in Cincinnati two weeks ago, was cheering via Twitter from home Sunday during Buffalo’s wild-card playoff home game against the Miami Dolphins. Hamlin tweeted less than an hour before kickoff, saying there is nothing he wants more than to be with his teammates. But he says he is supporting them from home as he
Tom Brady isn’t fazed by being a home underdog in the NFL playoffs for the first time in his career. After all, no one has enjoyed more postseason success than the seven-time Super Bowl champion, who begins his quest for a record eighth ring when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys in a NFC wild-card matchup Monday night. Brady owns a slew of playoff records, including most games played, wins, passing yards and touchdown passes. The 45-year-old quarterback has one more thing going for him — the Cowboys have never beaten him. Not that Brady believes career accomplishments or being 7-0 against America’s Team will have any bearing on Monday night.
The Baltimore Ravens’ season ended with Lamar Jackson not in uniform, not on the bench — not even in Cincinnati with the team. An argument could be made their season ended on Dec. 4, when the star quarterback suffered a knee injury that ultimately sidelined him until the Ravens were eliminated from the postseason. Backup Tyler Huntley had some strong moments for the Ravens in their 24-17 loss to the Bengals in a wild-card playoff game, but his fumble on a quarterback sneak attempt early in the fourth quarter ended up being the decisive play.
NBA
Julius Randle had 42 points and 15 rebounds as the New York Knicks extended their winning streak against the Detroit Pistons to 11 games with a 117-104 victory. Randle put up the first 40/15 game for the Knicks since Patrick Ewing on Jan. 19, 1996. Detroit hasn’t beat the Knicks since November 2019, the end of its eight-game winning streak over New York. Jalen Brunson added 27 points for the Knicks and Immanuel Quickley added 17. Jaden Ivey had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pistons and Saddiq Bey added 21 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey each scored 28 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Lu Dort added 22 points for the Thunder, who earned a three straight win to wrap up a road trip to the East and improved to 21-23. Brooklyn dropped its second straight loss since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained knee ligament. Seth Curry scored 23 points and Nic Claxton recorded his team-best 12th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
NHL
Cole Caufield scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Sam Montembeault made 38 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers. Caufield converted a pass from captain Nick Suzuki at 8:56 of the final period for the decisive goal. Caufield leads the Canadiens with 26 goals and has scored in seven of Montreal’s last eight games. Kirby Dach also scored for Montreal. Artemi Panarin scored for the Rangers.
Vancouver beat Carolina in a shootout 4-3.
Winnipeg defeated Arizona 2-1.
Australian Open
Rafael Nadal has started the defense of his Australian Open title with a bit of a struggle along the way to a four-set victory over a cramping Jack Draper. Nadal was not in peak form but did manage to beat Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a match that took more than 3 1/2 hours in Rod Laver Arena. It was the first match win for Nadal in 2023. He had lost six of his preceding seven contests dating to the end of last season. Americans Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins all reached the second round in the women's bracket with victories earlier Monday.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
St. John’s beat UConn 85-74.
Xavier downed Marquette 80-76.
Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus. Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Jack Kennedy said the shooting occurred early Sunday morning in The Strip off University Boulevard near campus. He said 23-year-old Jamea Harris of the Birmingham area was shot and killed. The 21-year-old Miles and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis of Charles County, Maryland, were both charged with capital murder. The university says Miles has been removed from the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide. He was a reserve forward.
UGa football player killed
Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member have been killed in a car wreck hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship. The school announced their deaths and said two other members of the football program were injured in the crash. They were not immediately identified but the school said both were in stable condition. The 20-year-old Willock was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy, was transported to a hospital where she died from her injuries. She worked as a recruiting analyst for the Bulldogs.
