Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles are two wins away from a second straight trip to the Super Bowl, one week after they were almost eliminated from the playoff race. Foles hit Golden Tate with a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 56 seconds remaining against the NFL's stingiest defense to push the Eagles past the Bears, 16-15 at Chicago.
Foles completed 25 of his 40 passes for 266 yards and two TDs to improve to 4-1 as a starter in Philadelphia postseason games.
The Bears still had a chance to win it following Tate's scoring grab, but kicker Cody Parkey hit the left upright and then the crossbar with a field-goal attempt from 43 yards with 10 seconds remaining.
Mitchell Trubisky put Chicago ahead 15-9 by hitting Allen Robinson for a 22-yard touchdown with 9:04 to play. Trubisky was 26 of 43 for 303 yards and no interceptions in his first NFL playoff start. The Eagles will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints next Sunday in the NFC divisional playoffs.
The Los Angeles Chargers have moved into the AFC divisional round after silencing rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens for three quarters. Michael Badgley kicked five field goals and Melvin Gordon scored on a one-yard run that gave the Chargers a 20-3 lead in the fourth quarter of a 23-17 victory over the Ravens in Baltimore. Badgley set a franchise record for field goals in a playoff game, including kicks of 53, 47 and 40 yards. His final field goal put Los Angeles ahead 23-3 with 9:09 left.
Philip Rivers was competent if unspectacular for the Chargers, completing 22 of 32 passes for 160 yards and no turnovers in the team's third straight wild-card win. Jackson completed just three passes before engineering a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives. He finished 14 of 29 for 194 yards with an interception and seven sacks. Baltimore's struggles happened two weeks after a 22-10 win over the Chargers in Baltimore.
The Chargers next face the second-seeded New England Patriots Sunday at Foxborough.
In the weekend's other playoff games, the Cowboys beat the Seahawks 24-22, and the Colts took down the Texans 21-7. Next weekend, the Cowboy's will face the Rams, and the Colts will play the Chiefs.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The third meeting between Alabama and Clemson with the national championship on the line will be played tonight in Santa Clara, California. Tide vs. Tigers might be getting old for some fans but the latest chapter has a chance to be the best. The winner will become the first 15-0 FBS champion. Alabama is seeking its sixth national championship under Nick Saban, with what looks like its greatest team during this unprecedented run.
In other college football news, University at Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson is forgoing his senior season by declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft. Jackson is a redshirt junior who already has graduated. He threw for a career-high 3,131 yards and 28 touchdowns this season and had seven rushing TDs. Jackson completed 56 percent of his pass attempts at Buffalo for 6,999 yards with 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in 32 career games.
NBA
The Nets picked up their third straight win as D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points and DeMarre Carroll added 20 off the bench in a 117-100 win against the Bulls. Jarrett Allen added 19 and six rebounds as Brooklyn improved to 12-3 in its last 15 games. The Nets are 20-21 at the midway point and didn't earn their 20th victory last season until Feb. 26.
In Sunday's other NBA action, the Los Angeles Lakers have now dropped five of six games since their convincing 127-101 blowout win over the two-time defending-champion Warriors at Golden State on Christmas Day. The slump also coincides with LeBron James' groin injury suffered against the Warriors. Andrew Wiggins scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 128-106 rout of the Lakers at Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns totaled 28 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in helping the Wolves improve to 14-6 at home. Jeff Teague scored all of his 15 points in the first half and finished with 11 assists as Minnesota improved to 19-21. Lance Stephenson had 14 points for the Lakers, who were also playing without point guard Rajon Rondo and power forward Kyle Kuzma. Los Angeles never threatened after falling behind 28-7 in the first quarter. The win didn't stop the Wolves from making a coaching change. The Wolves have fired Tom Thibodeau, who ended their 13-year postseason drought by guiding them to the playoffs last spring. The Timberwolves were 97-107 under Thibodeau.
Indiana's six-game winning streak is over after Norman Powell scored a season-high 23 points and Pascal Siakam added 12 with 10 rebounds in the Raptors' 121-105 romp over the Pacers. Serge Ibaka scored 18 points, while Kyle Lowry contributed 12 points and eight assists after missing the previous six games because of a sore lower back. Danny Green scored 15 on five 3-pointers and Toronto hit 17 of 33 from long range, one shy of its season best.
Tobias Harris scored 28 points and the Clippers overcame a slow start to beat the Magic for the 11th straight time, 106-96 at Los Angeles. Lou Williams contributed 17 points for the Clippers, while Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each had 13. L.A. is 23-16 and 2 1/2 games behind the Pacific Division-leading Warriors.
Trae Young scored 19 points and the Hawks ended a three-game losing streak by ripping the Heat, 106-82. John Collins had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta, which also received 17 points from DeAndre' Bembry. Miami missed 20 of its first 22 attempts beyond the arc before Dwyane Wade hit his 500th career 3-pointer.
Bradley Beal scored 25 points as the Wizards beat the Thunder, 116-98. Otto Porter had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to help Washington overcome Russell Westbrook's 12th triple-double of the season. Westbrook finished with 22 points, 15 boards and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which had won three in a row.
In NBA news, Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace says Chandler Parsons has chosen to continue rehabilitation in Los Angeles out of the options given the 30-year-old forward. Wallace issued his statement just hours after ESPN.com reported that the Grizzlies and Parsons had agreed to a split. The Grizzlies GM says they met with Parsons and spoke with both the forward and his representation numerous times during the forward's rehab on how to "integrate a healthy and effective Chandler" back on the court.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women's college basketball yesterday, Syracuse beat Virginia Tech 75-73, UConn defeated Houston, 81-61, and Siena won its game against Iona, 59-47.
Elswhere on college courts, second-ranked Michigan was able to keep its perfect season intact by holding off a much-improved Indiana squad. Charles Matthews scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half to help the Wolverines build a double-digit lead in a 74-63 win over the 21st-rated Hoosiers. Jordan Poole also finished with 18 points for the 15-0 Wolverines, who need a win at Illinoi on Thursday to match the school's best start. Juwan Morgan scored 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting for Indiana, which had won seven straight since losing at Duke.
Also on Sunday's top-25 slate, Markus Howard scored 26 points and 16th-ranked Marquette improved to 12-3 overall and 11-0 at its new arena by slamming Xavier, 70-52. Sacar Anim chipped in 20 points for the Golden Eagles, who led by nine before opening the second half on a 13-2 run to take command. Joey Hauser's jumper from the left side put Marquette up 48-28 with 11:40 remaining.
Armoni Brooks nailed six 3-pointers in a 22-point performance that highlighted No. 19 Houston's 90-77 victory over Memphis. Nate Hinton added 19 points and nine rebounds for the 15-0 Cougars, who extended their home winning streak to a nation-best 28 games.
Ethan Happ had 22 points and eight rebounds for No. 22 Wisconsin in a 71-52 pounding of Penn State. Brad Davison added 14 points and Nate Reuvers scored 11 as the Badgers stopped a two-game skid. The Nittany Lions were without coach Patrick Chambers, who was suspended for the game after shoving Penn State guard Myles Dread during a timeout in Thursday's loss at Michigan.
Jordan Bohannon scored a season-high 25 points and No. 25 Iowa ended a three-game losing streak in Big Ten play by downing No. 24 Nebraska, 93-84. Ryan Kriener added 14 points in his first career start for the Hawkeyes. Isaac Copeland had 24 points to pace the Cornhuskers.
NHL
The Vegas Golden Knights remain the hottest team in the NHL's Western Conference since Thanksgiving. Max Paccioretty scored late in the second period to complete the Golden Knights' comeback in a 3-2 victory over the Devils. Vegas trailed 2-0 midway through the first period before Ryan Reaves and Brayden McNabb tallied to knot the score. Malcolm Subban stopped 36 shots for the Knights, who have won six in a row and are 17-3-3 since Nov. 21. Vegas was three games under .500 before the hot streak moved them into a tie with Carlgary for the top point total in the West.
And rookie Conor Garland scored twice and Darcy Kuemper recorded his 12th career shutout by making 23 saves in the Coyotes' 5-0 rout of the Rangers. Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and two assists for Arizona, which ended a three-game skid and won for just the second time in its last nine home games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice, the Blackhawks ended the Penguins' eight-game winning streak by scoring twice in the third period of a 5-3 victory against Pittsburgh. Dylan Strome scored the game-winner 1:48 into the third period, and former Pen Chris Kunitz also tallied for Chicago. Pittsburgh led 2-0 following goals by Patric Hornqvist and Jake Guentzel 4 ½ minutes into the game.
Kyle Connor ended a 10-game pointless streak with a goal to help the Jets beat the Stars 5-1. Josh Morrissey had an empty-net goal and an assist, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots as Winnipeg rebounded from Friday's 4-0 loss to the Penguins to regain the Central Division lead.
The Capitals had dropped three in a row before third-period goals by Travis Boyd and Michal Kempny gave Washington a 3-2 triumph at Detroit. Tom Wilson also scored and Kempny provided the game-winner with 3:53 remaining for the defending champs.
Cam Talbot turned back 39 shots and the Oilers put together a three-goal first period before finishing off a 4-0 win at Anaheim. Connor McDavid opened the scoring and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set up goals by Jesse Pulujarvi and Kyle Brodziak later in the opening stanza to support Talbot's first shutout of the season and 20th of his career.
Justin Williams' power-play goal broke a 4-4 tie with 12:26 left in the Hurricanes' fourth straight win, 5-4 at Ottawa. Justin Faulk and Brock McGinn each had a goal and an assist for Carolina.
MLB NEWS
The New York Mets swung minor deals with the Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros. The Mets shipped backup catcher Kevin Plawecki to the Indians for right-hander Walker Lockett and infielder Sam Haggerty. The 27-year-old Plawecki batted .201 with seven home runs and a career-high 30 RBIs last year, missing six weeks with a broken left hand. The Mets also picked up reserve infielder J.D. Davis and infield prospect Cody Bohanek from the Astros, who received outfielder Ross Adolph, catcher Scott Manea and infielder Luis Santana in a swap of prospects.
PGA
Xander Schauffele tied the Plantation course record with an 11-under 62 to win the Sentry Tournament of Championship by one stroke over Gary Woodland at Kapalua. Schauffele started the final round five shots out of the lead and opened with a bogey before running off three straight birdies and chipping in for eagle at the turn. Schauffele finished birdie-birdie to tie the course record last set four years ago.
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