NFL
James Cook scored two touchdowns, Buffalo’s defense forced three second-half turnovers and the AFC East champion Bills overcame a 14-0 deficit to pull out a 24-21 win over the New England Patriots. With trainers examining Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s right throwing elbow on the sideline, cornerback Taron Johnson secured the victory by recovering a fumble in the end zone to put Buffalo up 24-14 with 10:10 left. Allen returned on the Bills' next possession and finished 16 of 29 for 154 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Buffalo improved to 12-3 while New England has lost five straight to fall to 3-12.
Michael Penix Jr. won his debut as Atlanta’s starting quarterback, thanks largely to a defense that returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns to hand the hapless New York Giants their franchise-record 10th straight loss, 34-7. Jessie Bates and Matthew Judon each had a pick-6 to lead Atlanta to its second straight win after a four-game losing streak put its postseason hopes in jeopardy. The 8-7 Falcons came into the week a game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South and holding the tiebreaker edge over the Bucs. Atlanta moved back into first place when Tampa Bay lost at Dallas on Sunday night. Penix threw for 202 yards with an interception that wasn't his fault.
Matthew Stafford threw a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee early in the fourth quarter after a turnover by Aaron Rodgers and the Los Angeles Rams beat the New York Jets 19-9 for their fourth consecutive victory. The Rams maintained their spot atop the NFC West standings with the victory after a slow start against the Jets on a day when it was a frosty 23 degrees at kickoff. With the game tied at 9 early in the fourth quarter, Kam Curl sacked Rodgers on a blitz and forced a fumble that Jared Verse recovered at the Jets 21. Three plays later, Stafford found Higbee.
Jayden Daniels threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game with 6 seconds left to give the Washington Commanders a 36-33 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles' winning streak ended at 10 and they lost starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to a concussion early. Daniels led a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:58 to mov(ing) the Commanders to the verge of making the playoffs and prevent the Eagles from clinching the NFC East title and one of the conference's top two seeds.
Jalen Hurts has been ruled out of the Philadelphia Eagles' game at the Washington Commanders with a concussion. Hurts' head bounced off the ground at the end of one run, and Frankie Luvu hit him in the helmet at the end of another early in the first quarter. Hurts went to the blue medical tent on the visiting sideline and was replaced at quarterback by Kenny Pickett. After trying to return to the game, Hurts was escorted back to the tent and then down the tunnel to the locker room. Pickett threw a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown and an interception after as the Eagles went up big early in the game.
Chuba Hubbard ran for a 21-yard touchdown in overtime, and the Carolina Panthers eliminated the Arizona Cardinals from playoff contention with a 36-30 victory. Hubbard finished with 152 yards and two TDs on 25 carries. He rushed for 49 yards on the decisive drive in OT. Kyler Murray threw for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and his 20-yard TD run helped rally the Cardinals from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the extra period. But it wasn’t enough for the Cardinals, who led the NFC West in early November but have lost four of five since.
Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals are 7-8 and need to win their last two games and get some help to reach the postseason. Burrow passed for three or more TDs for the seventh consecutive game and finished 23 of 30 for 252 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 97 yards and a garbage-time touchdown for Cincinnati to reach 1,510 yards this season and break his own franchise record of 1,455 yards set in 2021. The Browns missed some chances in the red zone with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback.
Sam Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third TD pass of the game, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC. Jefferson finished with 10 catches for 148 yards and two TDs as the Vikings won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to close out the season, they will earn the top seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye. The Seahawks have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak and fell one game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
Jonathan Taylor rebounded from perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his career by rushing for 218 yards and scoring three times, including runs of 65 and 70 yards to lead the Indianapolis Colts past the Tennessee Titans 38-30. Indy rushed for a franchise-record 335 yards. Taylor's rushing total was the second highest in the NFL this season. It also was the second highest of Taylor's five-year career and his most TD runs in a game since having four against Buffalo in 2021. Tennessee gave up the most yards rushing in a game since moving from Houston to Nashville. The Titans rallied from a 38-7 deficit by scoring 23 straight points. But Kenny Moore II's second interception of the game as time expired sealed the win.
Sam Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third TD pass of the game, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC. Jefferson finished with 10 catches for 148 yards and two TDs as the Vikings won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to close out the season, they will earn the top seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye. The Seahawks have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak and fell one game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
Aidan O’Connell returned from an injury and passed for 257 yards, and the Las Vegas Raiders ended a 10-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Raiders' skid was the longest-active streat in the NFL. They won for the first time since beating the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sept. 29. The victory means the Raiders (3-12) moved ahead of the league-worst New York Giants (2-13). The team with the worst record is in line for the top pick in next year’s draft. Jacksonville is 3-12 and has lost seven of its last eight games and is 2-9 in one-score contests.
Tyreek Hill has not shied away from accountability during one of the least productive seasons of his nine-year career. On Sunday, after a poor performance in Miami’s 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Hill was candid about the reason for a puzzling decline in his connection with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this season. Hill caught just 3 of 7 targets for 29 yards and a touchdown and had several drops, including one on third down that went through his hands on Miami’s opening drive. He said the drops were because of a lack of practice reps with Tua Tagovailoa.
Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass, Brandon Aubrey kicked two 58-yarders among four field goals and the Dallas Cowboys beat Tampa Bay 26-24, costing Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers control of their playoff fate. The end of a four-game winning streak left the Bucs even with Atlanta atop the NFC South with two games remaining, but the Falcons have the tiebreaker. A three-year playoff run for the Cowboys ended when they were eliminated from postseason contention before the prime-time kickoff. Mayfield was in position to lead a rally from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes when the Cowboys' DaRon Bland stripped the ball from Rachaad White to seal the win.
Texans receiver Tank Dell has been released after an overnight stay in the hospital and was traveling back to Houston on Sunday after sustaining a severe knee injury in Saturday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach DeMeco Ryans provided the update Sunday, but didn’t have many details beyond his return to Houston. “Right now, we still will be evaluating to see where he is,” Ryans said. “He’s still meeting with doctors to see what’s next for him. But it is a significant knee injury.”
In Monday Night Football, the Saints are in Green Bay taking on the Packers at 8:15 tonight.
NHL
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 shots and assisted on two goals as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-1. William Carrier, Jack Roslovic and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the fourth time in six games and improved to 10-3-1 against Metropolitan Division opponents this season. Jimmy Vesey scored for New York 17 seconds into the game.
New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe (remm-pay) has been suspended for eight games for boarding and elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (meero hays cone-enn) on Friday night. Rempe had an in-person hearing via Zoom on Sunday, as opposed to a phone call, which allowed senior vice president of player safety George Parros and his department to suspend Rempe for six or more games. Rempe, a 6-foot-8 forward, became popular last season in his rookie year with the Rangers for fighting some of the toughest players in the league, but he was ejected twice and also received a four-game ban for an elbow to the head of New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler.
Aliaksei Protas scored twice and the Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Sunday night. Jakub Vrana also scored and Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists en route to the win, which puts the Capitals back atop the Eastern Conference standings. Logan Thompson made 25 saves to advance to 13-2-2. Kevin Fiala had the lone goal for the Kings, who have lost three of the last four games. David Rittich stopped 18 shots in the defeat, dropping to 10-8.
A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen scored short-handed goals 42 seconds apart in the second period to help the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Sunday to open a home-and-home series. The teams will play again Monday night at Florida.Sam Reinhart scored twice, the second into an empty net, and Spencer Knight stopped 19 shots for Stanley Cup champion Florida. The Panthers have won four consecutive games. Nick Paul and Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves, The Lightning had won four in a row.
Mason McTavish was the only scorer in the shootout and the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a three-goal deficit, beating the Utah Hockey Club 5-4. Robby Fabbri scored twice and Isac Lundestrom and Brett Leason added goals for Anaheim, which won for the third time in four games after a five-game skid. Lukas Dostal finished with 21 saves. Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists. Barrett Hayton and Logan Cooley also scored and Jaxson Stauber made 26 saves for Utah, which had its four-game winning streak halted.
Zach Hyman broke a tie on a power play late in the second period, Stuart Skinner made 20 saves and the Edmonton Oilers beat Ottawa 3-1 on Sunday night to end the Senators’ season-high winning streak at six games. Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist and Adam Henrique also scored for Edmonton. The Oilers have won three straight and 11 of 13. Nick Cousins scored for Ottawa, tying it at 1 just 25 seconds in the second period. Leevi Merilainen made 12 saves for Ottawa after replacing the injured Linus Ullmark to start the second period.
Joel Kiviranta scored three goals, including twice into an empty net, Nathan MacKinnon notched his third straight two-assist game and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar also added goals to propel Colorado to a third straight win. In addition to MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Makar had two assists as the Avalanche swept the three-game season series with the Kraken. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 17 shots. Jared McCann and Kaapo Kakko had goals for the Seattle, which has dropped five in a row.
NFL
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers dominated the second half to rout the Sacramento Kings 122-95 on Sunday. Siakam scored 13 points after halftime, when the Pacers outscored the Kings 70-43 after the game was tied at 52 at the break. The Pacers shot 58% for the game and made 17 3-pointers in their season-high fourth straight victory. Myles Turner added 15 points and Ben Sheppard had 14 off the bench. Tyrese Haliburton, who started his career in Sacramento, had 14 points.
Dillon Brooks scored 27 points, Jalen Green had 22 and the Houston Rockets won in Toronto for the first time in more than five years by beating the struggling Raptors 114-110. Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who hadn’t won in Toronto since Dec. 5, 2019. Current Rockets guard Fred VanVleet scored 20 points for the reigning NBA-champion Raptors in that game. Ja’Kobe Walter fouled out with a career-high 27 points and Chris Boucher and Ochai Agbaji each added 15 as Toronto’s losing streak reached seven.
OT Denver 132 New Orleans 129 =
Nikola Jokic overcame a slow scoring start for his ninth triple-double of the season, finishing with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Denver Nuggets’ 132-129 overtime victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. Jokic turned it on after failing to score in the first 21 minutes. Jamal Murray added 27 points, scoring Denver’s final five in overtime, and Russell Westbrook had 21. The Pelicans led 107-98 with 7:50 left in regulation, but Jokic scored seven points in a 15-2 Denver run over a 3:41 span to give the Nuggets a 113-109 lead. CJ McCollum put New Orleans up 119-117 with a 3-pointer with 52 seconds remaining, and Murray tied it with 8.8 seconds left.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Iona 79 Colgate 73
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The average final score over the first week of the College Football Playoffs: Winners 36, Losers 17. This bold, new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into the loop of a largely regional sport that had been dominated by about a half-dozen teams for the last decade. Instead, it will take another 10 days to find out if “more” really means more — or if more just means more blowouts before arriving at what we had before — a group of four contenders battling it out for a title that only they had any realistic chance to win.
Ohio State players had been thinking about a rematch with Oregon long before the Buckeyes crushed Tennessee in a first-round playoff game. Their first chance to avenge the Oct. 12 loss to the Ducks looked to be the Big Ten championship game, but that slipped away when the Buckeyes lost to Michigan and gave up their spot in the title game. Now, by virtue of Saturday night’s 42-17 win over Tennessee, the Buckeyes will see the Ducks again in a quarterfinal game on a grand stage — the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Jess Mruzik made 29 kills with a .315 hitting percentage, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first female coach to win a NCAA volleyball championship as Penn State defeated Louisville 3-1 in the final. The Nittany Lions (35-2) earned their record eighth national championship and first since 2014 under the third-year coach, who has led the team while undergoing treatment for breast cancer that was diagnosed in September. Schumacher-Cawley has nonetheless conducted practices between treatments, a determined and emotional journey that provided a rallying point for players and garnered widespread support. Penn State completed its mission by winning 25-23, 32-34, 25-20 and 25-17.
GOLF
Tiger Woods' son hit the shot of his life for a hole-in-one. Bernhard Langer hit the shot that mattered. The 67-year-old Langer made an 18-foot eagle putt on the first playoff hole as he and son Jason won the PNC Championship for the second straight year. They beat Woods and 15-year-old son Charlie in a playoff. Team Langer and Team Woods each shot 57 in the scramble format. They made par on only four holes and set the tournament scoring record. Charlie Woods says the entire day, even in loss, was his most fun on the golf course.
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